What Do They Know?

I found this unique set of facts in my mailbox today about what the typical Bush supporter knew about current issues -- the survey was conducted after the debates -- pretty interesting stuff, almost makes you kinda understand why they support him ... time to get their learn on

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(Courtesy Misleader.org)

BUSH SUPPORTERS MISLED

A new study by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) shows that supporters of President Bush hold INACCURATE views about the key current events and Bush positions on key foreign policy issues

Here are the key findings:

72% believed that Iraq had WMDs prior to the US invasion

57% believe that the Duelfer Report concluded that Iraq had WMDs or a program to develop them

Even though Duelfer was selected by the Bush Administration, his report actually concluded that "Saddam Hussein did not produce or possess any weapons of mass destruction for more than a decade before the U.S.-led invasion" and the U.N. inspection regime had "curbed his ability to build or develop weapons."

75% of Bush supporters also believe "Iraq was providing substantial support to al Qaeda."

55% of Bush supporters believe the 9/11 commission's findings support this al Qaeda - Iraq connection

The 9/11 Commission actually concluded there was no "collaborative relationship" between al-Qaeda and Iraq

Bush supporters also hold inaccurate views about world public opinion of the war in Iraq and a range of Bush's foreign policy positions.

Bush supporters incorrectly assume BUSH SUPPORTS multilateral approaches to various international issues

69% thought Bush supported Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty on nuclear weapons

72% thought Bush supported Land Mine treaty

51% thought Bush supported Kyoto Protocol on climate change

53% thought Bush supported International Criminal Court
(ed.note: I guess no one watched the debates)

74% thought Bush supports fair labor and environmental standards in trade agreements
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Here's my take:
The supreme irony about this all is that the core of Bush supporters support these positions, yet he DOES NOT

Apparently this doesn't matter because the majority of Bush supporters support him despite these obvious gaps in their knowledge about what his positions actually are, in addition to gaps in their own personal knowledge about issues related to the "war on terror"

At what point does the blame shift from the Bush administration misleading us to just plain ignorance on the part of Bush supporters -- and by extension, the public in general