October 26, 2004

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Thus Ate Zarathustra

Brooks is masterfully funny in this piece. However, the factual bits below suggest the American electorate has a long way to go before it declares itself informed. Remember, these are voters, not including those who don't vote!

"He must give broad hints of the hidden structures that shape the electorate. He must make sure his listeners do not recall that most voters have only the foggiest notions of what they are voting on. As a Cato Institute study reminds us, 70 percent of voters do not know about the new prescription drug benefit, 60 percent know little about the Patriot Act, and during the cold war, only 38 percent of voters knew that the Soviet Union was not a member of NATO."

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