Most Americans fail on political quiz

[Hawaii Hiker]

This quiz isn't that hard (i got 12/12) & probably everyone here will as well....It's amazing how many people don't know some basic political questions, no wonder Rethugs can scare people so easily, they don't know anything & believe everything (the Rethugs say)..

http://pewresearch.org/politicalquiz/

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/04/13/americans_fail_politics_quiz.html

[madaboutharry]

1. I got all 12 questions correct along with 2% of the public.

Wow, that is sad.

[sharp_stick]

2. That is pathetic

the questions were easy enough that someone who picked up the occasional paper or watched the headlines once a week could have pulled off 6 or 7.

The fact that 58% of people scored five or less is just downright pathetic. The highest percentage (13%) scored a measly 2 out of 12 (17%). Damn but that is just sad.

[alstephenson]

3. Very interesting. Thanks for posting.

[FormerDittoHead]

4. Stephen Colbert? I hate these trivia questions.

Americans don't do well with political trivia! They're stupid!

:sarcasm:

PS: I surprised myself and got all 12 questions right - top 2%.

[damntexdem]

5. They scored it wrong.

Claimed I said more than one woman on SCOTUS. But I backed up and looked and had listed one, as intended (Ruth Bader Ginsberg). So I did get 12/12, not 11/12 like they said.

But I had not noted that China got rid of so much U.S. debt recently so that Japan is now our biggest creditor. So they really should have dinged me on that one, or it least counted half off.

;-)

[muffin1]

9. There ARE two women on SCOTUS now. n/t

[uppityperson]

57. I forgot Sotomayor also. nt

[xxqqqzme]

104. but that wasn't a choice

the correct choice was 'more than one'.

[muffin1]

111. That's exactly what I was saying.

The poster indicated that Pew made a mistake by saying that he had chosen 'more than one', and that he DIDN'T click 'more than one'.
I was saying 'more than one' is the correct answer.

[sharp_stick]

13. I almost did that...

then remembered Sonia Sotomayor. I don't know why she slipped my mind, I was so happy when she was confirmed.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

66. right there with ya... n/t

[ecstatic]

105. I'm embarrassed to say I got 11/12 too, and that question is what got me

I actually forgot about Ruth, not Sonia.

[rurallib]

6. Makes you wonder how teabaggers and FUX watchers would do.

[hobbit709]

62. They'd have to be able to read and comprehend first.

[LiberalFighter]

81. My thinking is that they would have trouble getting more than 6 right.

[muffin1]

7. I got 11 out of 12.

The whole China/Japan thing tripped me up. Did better than 92% though.

[LiberalFighter]

82. Japan use to until China took over.

[Kutjara]

8. I got the unemployment percentage wrong.

I said it was closer to 15%, because I include all the "soft unemployed" that the official figures massage out. Last I heard,when you include those who are normally excluded for one reason or another (like "gave up looking for work because there isn't anything out there"), the true figure is closer to 17%.

Anyway, it is indeed depressing how politically ignorant people are. And those were the ones sufficiently motivated to take a political test in the first place!

[JBoy]

14. I'm exactly the same. That was a trick question!

[Gin]

21. I got 11...the oil one was wrong...interesting little quiz

[Dr Morbius]

36. Yup, same here. (nt)

[Arkansas Granny]

106. That's the one I missed, also.

[ozone_man]

25. The official number vs. the actual number

You are right in my opinion. I put 10%, betting that Pew Research would go with the official number. And we are in a "V" shaped economic recovery too. :)

[LiberalFighter]

84. Don't you mean a bikini shaped economic recovery?

Rachel Maddow and her cohort made a big deal about it on her show.

[customerserviceguy]

10. 11 out of 12 here

I missed the one about fatalities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[mdmc]

16. Is Ruth Bater Ginsberg still on the bench?

I missed that one.. Sotomyer and Ginsberg? I thought there was just Sotomyer...

[Hawaii Hiker]

19. I almost "F-ed" that one up

took couple seconds, & remembered Ginsburg, Sotomayor thus more than 1..

[Bluebear]

53. me too!

[walldude]

32. I think that was the one I missed as well... 11 out of 12 though..

Forgot about Ginsberg,

[mdmc]

47. me too

..

[FSogol]

75. Same here. n/t

[malaise]

11. LOL

Here's Your Score: You correctly answered 12 of the 12 possible questions along with approximately 2% of the public. You did better than 98% of the general public.

I've had a great time with political quizzes this week...and I'm not even American. :evilgrin:

[av8rdave]

12. I got all 12...that was a piece of cake!

[MrSlayer]

15. I got 12 out of 12. Only 2% did perfectly.

6% got zero correct. Insanity.

[Cali_Democrat]

17. 12/12 YAY!!!!

I completely failed the consitution quiz yesterday although I kind of half-assed that one.

I got 100% on this on though!! :)

[druidity33]

74. constitution quiz? nt.

[slackmaster]

18. I got 11

Missed the one about where the most US military fatalities were in 2009.

[GreenPartyVoter]

71. I missed the oil one. I blame it on not being entirely awake yet. LOL

[MadHound]

20. And Pew gets one wrong, but it is excusable

Their first question about unemployment is only using the U3 numbers, a notoriously poor measure of unemployment. If Pew, and our government wanted to be honest they would use the U6 numbers, which also counts those who are discouraged or marginally employed. This number is running at almost 17%.

[LiberalFighter]

85. They were using the numbers the govt and media puts out.

[MissMarple]

22. I missed two...oil and Afghanistan. But I knew I didn't know when I answered.

:shrug: Learning curve.

[readmoreoften]

23. All 12, but I cringed when I chose "closer to 10% national unemployment"

We all know that real unemployment figures are much higher, so I understand why folks might choose 15%.

I don't think all these questions are terribly important, however. Many people don't care about the political process anyway because they've given up on it. And I think the Colbert question is irrelevant.

[Brigid]

27. I don't think the Colbert question is irrelevant.

Because some of the RW teabagger types actually think he's serious. I got 12/12, BTW. ;)

[LetsgoWings13]

24. im a 2%er ;)

[DURHAM D]

26. The demo breakdowns are more interesting than the quiz.

College grads answered correctly more often on every question except oil imports percentage. Interesting...

And, women need to pick it up a little.


JFTR - got all correct and I am female.

[depakid]

41. Something of an odd distribution

[lumberjack_jeff]

102. 16% of 18-29 year olds know who he Senate Majority leader is. n/t

[KansDem]

28. 12 out of 12 for me!

And I owe it all to DU! :D

on edit: I'm surprised the lowest score was the "how many senators are required to end filibuster." With the "nuclear option" hub-bub of the GOP for the last 10 years, I was surprised the public didn't know the answer to that question.

[frazzled]

31. Me too!

Now, if only we could be in the top 2% of income.

[LiberalFighter]

87. I think we should be in that bracket too.

[TuxedoKat]

45. Surprised myself, I did too

I owe it to DU too.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

29. I missed #6, said 67 n/t

[Hell Hath No Fury]

30. Wow! 12 of 12!

I honestly didn't think I would get that. Thanks, DU, for the good education! :hi:

Here's the breakdown:

[DURHAM D]

43. So more than 25% got two or less correct.

And 2/3rds got half or less correct.

Probably that 2/3rds represents a high percentage of voters. Probably mostly rightwingers.

[ashling]

33. Poorly worded

The answer to #1, for instance should have been yes or no.
:rofl:

[Jkid]

34. I actually did pretty good.

Here's Your Score: You correctly answered 9 out of the 12 possible questions, which means you did better on the quiz than 78% of the general public.

[Polly Hennessey]

35. I'm in the 2%

Got them all correct. Guess it pays to watch Keith, Rachel, Jon and Stephen.

[The_Commonist]

37. I got 12 out of 12.

I was certain that I got one or two wrong, but nope.

[EFerrari]

38. This is the first time I knew the Dow.

lol

[Bluebear]

39. 11/12, missed Iraq vs Afghanistan

[KathieG]

51. Same here.

[Bluebear]

54. who knew, eh?

[depakid]

40. "no wonder Rethugs can scare people so easily, they don't know anything & believe everything"

Impressive, isn't it?

Proudly ignorant and easily frightened.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

68. the sad part is that Dems scored worse on this test

than the Pubs did...

http://pewresearch.org/politicalquiz/quiz/

sP

[LiberalFighter]

93. The question that Republicans did better in answering is Senate Majority Leader Reid.

They would be more inclined to know that because he is perceived to be a thorn in their side. And they talk about him a LOT on their right wing shows. So if all that brainwashing didn't sink in then nothing will.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

108. not just that one...all but one or two questions Pubs scored higher n/t

[progressoid]

97. Yep. I was trying to find a justification for that in the questions or the wording of the questions

But the stats are pretty grim even for the questions that Dems should have known. Sad.

[dkofos]

42. 12 for 12

[johnnie]

44. Missed one

Oh well.

[JustAnotherGen]

46. I'm in the top 2%

:patriot: Here's Your Score: You correctly answered 12 of the 12 possible questions along with approximately 2% of the public. You did better than 98% of the general public.

I wonder if the mega rich in this country that are in THAT top 2% feel as proud about accomplishing something today?

[Morning Dew]

48. Got 12/12 - woo hoo !

that two percent has to move up if enough DUers take this quiz.

[pink-o]

49. I too am with ya 2 percenters!

Think we're obsessed much? I posted the quiz on my Facebook page; something tells me my friends there won't do half as well as my compatriots on DU.

[KathieG]

50. 11 out of 12...not bad.

[Grand Taurean]

52. 12 out of 12 here

:party:

[nadinbrzezinski]

55. 12/12

not shabby

:-)

[Bluebear]

56. Good for you !

I don't know how I missed Iraq vs Afghanistan casualties but there it is.

[nadinbrzezinski]

58. I had to think about that one

:-)

[fifthoffive]

59. Sorry to let down the side...

Only got 11 out of 12. Missed the question on oil.

[Bluebear]

60. lol

An excellent score~!

[era veteran]

61. 12 out of 12

Fairly to, too easy

[4lbs]

63. 12/12. Almost missed Christmas Day Bomber question.

:D

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

64. 12 of 12

its sad that only 2% of the public know these answers. No wonder we are in such a mess.

[sendero]

65. I dispute their claim...

... that unemployment is 10%, it is about 17%. Other than that one, I got em. :)

[Lyric]

67. Surprisingly, I got them all right. A few were educated guesses, though.

For example--I admit that I wasn't 100% sure before the quiz whether China or Japan had more of our debt, but I remembered someone here mentioning something to the effect that China does NOT hold the majority of our debt...therefore, Japan seemed like the next logical answer. I also dislike the one about unemployment numbers. We all know that the "official" number is practically worthless. It's like trying to determine the body count after a car crash and refusing to count the people who were thrown OUT of the car upon impact.

[whistler162]

69. 12/12 - Had to guess on one....

Who is Stephen Colbert from the "quiz" some kind of comic.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

70. Got 11 - who the heck is Stephen Colbert?

And, is there a reason I should know who Stephen Colbert is?

:hi:

[Lucy Goosey]

72. I got a perfect score, too...

...and I'm not American, nor do I live in the US. I could drive to the US (Upstate NY) in about an hour from my home, but still.

[Vinca]

73. I got 12 for 12. Those were easy.

They ought to throw in some more obscure facts, like what brand of tanning bed Boner uses.:rofl:

[bigwillq]

76. 12 of 12 (nt)

[NoPasaran]

77. 11/12 D'oh! Don't really follow the Dow

Just a capitalist shell game according to my reality.

[NorthCarolina]

78. 11 of 12 here.

Got the unemployment percentage wrong. I assumed they were asking the "actual" percentage as opposed to the "official government tally" which does not count those unemployed who no longer qualify for unemployment benefits.

[Sintosol]

79. The crazy thing is

The poll results show that the republicans got more answers right than the Democrats.

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1478/political-iq-quiz-knowledge-filibuster-debt-colbert-steele

[guitar man]

90. How do they know that?

I don't know about you, but it didn't ask me what party I belong to :shrug:

[peekaloo]

91. I was going to ask about that, too. Was there a profile page I missed?

:o

[tjwash]

92. I was just thinking the same thing.

:WTF:

And asking who Stephen Colbert was in a political? Why the fuck didn't they just ask who won last years american idol while they were at it?

[LiberalFighter]

95. It was based on the phone survey they did in January.

[guitar man]

98. ah, thanks

well, I never got a call, so they wouldn't know I was 12/12 on the quiz :P

[lumberjack_jeff]

103. Uh huh. Welcome to DU

[kentuck]

80. My wife got 12 out of 12...

Then asked me to take it. I got all 12 also. :-)

[bhcodem]

83. Mark me as..

12 out of 12 as well!

[quiet.american]

86. Got an even dozen... but will say, I think you would have to be a DU'er to get them all right.

Or rather, a political junkie!

[Kalyke]

88. Why are women doing so badly on this quiz?

I'm female and got 11 out of 12. I see from responses on this board, other women got the same or all 12.

Why are women so uninformed, overall, in this country? Too much American "Idle" or something? I mean, men watch that show, too.

Any thoughts?

[LiberalFighter]

96. Women have more work to do than men?

Just saw that 62% of the hourly workforce are women.

[Kalyke]

107. I work full-time in a management position and have two small children,

four dogs, a gerbil and a husband who helps, but only after some prodding.

I still did better than 92 percent of the population.

:)

[Renew Deal]

89. I got all 12!

:bounce:

[PA Democrat]

94. I got 12.

[progressoid]

99. Actually, Democrats did worse than Repubs so....

[madmom]

100. I also got 12/12, seems like the whole 2% is made up of DU members!

:rofl:

[lumberjack_jeff]

101. 11 How could I forget Sotomayor? n/t

[TheWatcher]

109. However, most of them Aced the American Idol Exam.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

110. Kick

[nickinSTL]

112. I got 11

the one I got wrong was stupid and shows just how little I pay attention to "economic indicators" that have more to do with how well Wall Street is doing rather than anything that really applies to me.