Last month, Newsweek conducted a poll in which it asked Americans questions regarding American history, world history, current events, and geography. Predictably, the results were less than encouraging. 89% percent of those polled, for example, were unable to name the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (John Roberts) while 63% were unable to name the first person to win the presidency as a Republican (Abraham Lincoln).
However, one of the most disheartening results was the number of Americans polled who continue to believe that Saddam Hussein was directly involved in planning, financing, or carrying out the 9/11 terrorist attacks:
Even today, more than four years into the war in Iraq, as many as four in 10 Americans (41 percent) still believe Saddam Hussein’s regime was directly involved in financing, planning or carrying out the terrorist attacks on 9/11, even though no evidence has surfaced to support a connection. A majority of Americans were similarly unable to pick Saudi Arabia in a multiple-choice question about the country where most of the 9/11 hijackers were born. Just 43 percent got it right—and a full 20 percent thought most came from Iraq.
This is downright pathetic. It’s bad enough that the majority of Americans can’t even identify who the first Republican president was, but for so many to continue to believe that Saddam Hussein was directly involved in the 9/11 attacks shows an almost willful ignorance on the part of 41% of Americans.
It looks like all the constant Iraq…9/11…Iraq…9/11…Iraq…9/11 by the Bush administration (not to mention countless misleading reports by Fox News and the Weekly Standard) has paid off.
The link to Newsweek’s poll can be found here.
Birthplace: San Diego, CA
Birthdate: That’s for me to know
Political Party: Independent
Political Philosophy: Libertarian-liberal