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I guess palin is smarter then most of them huh
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081120...ucationoffbeat
US officials flunk test of Amerian history, economics, civics
Thu Nov 20, 2:24 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.
Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Ins ute (ISI).
"It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI's civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned," said Josiah Bunting, chairman of the National Civic Literacy Board at ISI.
"How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don't understand the American experience?" he added.
The exam questions covered American history, the workings of the US government and economics.
Among the questions asked of some 2,500 people who were randomly selected to take the test, including "self-identified elected officials," was one which asked respondents to "name two countries that were our enemies during World War II."
Sixty-nine percent of respondents correctly identified Germany and Japan. Among the incorrect answers were Britain, China, Russia, Canada, Mexico and Spain.
Forty percent of respondents, meanwhile, incorrectly believed that the US president has the power to declare war, while 54 percent correctly answered that that power rests with Congress.
Asked about the electoral college, 20 percent of elected officials incorrectly said it was established to "supervise the first televised presidential debates."
In fact, the system of choosing the US president via an indirect electoral college vote dates back some 220 years, to the US Cons ution.
The question that received the fewest correct responses, just 16 percent, tested respondents' basic understanding of economic principles, asking why "free markets typically secure more economic prosperity than government's centralized planning?"
Activities that dull Americans' civic knowledge include talking on the phone and watching movies or television -- even news shows and do entaries, ISI said.
Meanwhile, civic knowledge is enhanced by discussing public affairs, taking part in civic activities and reading about current events and history, the group said.
I guess palin is smarter then most of them huh
lol nope.
She could have been one of them with a bad score.
Just you ducks. Just you.
Though I think if the quiz had been "Anything and Everything Alaska" she'd have had a perfect score most likely.
As dumb as Palin is, there's a of a lot of Palins in our congress, so maybe so.
I guess thats one way to look at it. Another is to wonder how stupid people keep getting in office. Except I know how stupid people keep getting in office.
The GOP has waged a pretty calculated war on intelligence in this country. If you're intelligent, or professorial as Obama was called, then you're also labeled as an elitist. This is led to the stultification of American leadership.
Being intelligent is not a bad thing, and its actually something we should want out of our elected leaders.
Amazing.
With a statement like that you leave me no alternative other than to conclude that you were among those that did not fare well in this "war".
Partisanship (ignorance) is bliss.
no
some thing havard is the only school to go to if you do not go there you are dumb
hyperbolize much?
Is English your first language?
Seriously... whatever school you went to or are going to has failed you miserably.
This goes back to how we learn things in school, not what we've learned. The traditional model of schooling is to memorize facts, recalling them on exams and then dumping that information for other information that follows the same pattern....the new model of education (and how the TAKS is structured coincidentally) is using the information for problem solving which requires much higher-order thinking skills....that's why kids don't do well on standardized tests.....but then go on to be successful adults....
Yeah, we didn't just have a Presidential campaign in which the guy whose degrees were from Ivy League schools was largely ridiculed by the other side for that fact.
Seriously, politicians will say anything and everything if they think it translates into votes, it’s the old adage of throwing a ton of bs against the wall and hoping some of it sticks. This charge was certainly not against intelligence, but an effort to paint Obama as being an intellectual elitist, to the degree that he was out of touch with mainstream Americans.
And, IIRC, it was Hillary, back in April, that accused Obama of being an “elitist”…I’m not aware of Clinton’s affiliation with the GOP.
Do you seriously believe that the Democrats have cornered the market on intelligence?
FWD, is your post supposed to pass as being a persuasive argument supporting Manny’s contention that the Republicans are waging a war on intellectualism?
Slightly off topic:
FWD, do you consider yourself an intellectual?
If your answer is yes, do you believe that makes you a better person than someone that would not be considered an intellectual?
Would the CEO's of Fannie and Freddie be considered intellectuals? How about the CEO's of our failed financial ins itutions; intellectuals or not?
Are intellectual less susceptible to corruption than those that don't fall into that category?
Of course here is the obligatory:
CLICKE HERE TO TAKE THE QUIZ MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLE.
You answered 32 out of 33 correctly — 96.97 %
Average score for this quiz during November: 78.0%
Average score: 78.0%
Answers to Your Missed Questions:
Question #4 - [REDACTED- RG]
No, but occasionally one wonders...
I heard an interesting bit on the radio the other day from an analyst who said that Obama's incoming team makes "evidence-based" decisions, implying that actual data and evidence weren't the basis for decisions under the current Republican administration.
I found that apt.
"Democrats have cornered the market on intelligence"
Of course not, but the Repugs and conservatives have let ideology and religion make them stupid, anti-intellectual, anti-education, anti-American,
"know nothing" while pandering to the ignorant/red-state/rural/uneducated/Christian-supremacist demographics.
The campaign and intellects of McNasty and pitbull epitomize the anti-intelligent, inane, lying, fact-free orientation of the Repugs. Their campaign and her nomination were an insult to most Americans, as reflected in polls and the overwhelming victory of Obama with centrists, moderates, independents, even among white men.
I got 88%, and I disagree with the free trade question. Their answer is clearly wrong with respect to our relationship with China, and sounds like conservative dogma.
My impression as well. The Ins ute mentioned in the OP is a conservative think tank.
A few of those questions were more dogmatic than actually testing economics.
I got 6 wrong... not too shabby.
I noticed that as well. Still got most of them right, but that's more being able to guess the intent of the author of the quiz than actually 'knowing' the right answer.
This stat is shocking, especially considering what a well-rounded, highly learned Renaissance man GW Bush is.
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