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OPINIONS
John Patrick Grace: As voters, we need to be better informed
Stark evidence shows that too many American voters have shallow notions of who and what they are voting for. Rick Shenkman, in a new book titled "Just How Stupid Are We? Facing the Truth about the American Voter," cites some pretty frightening stats to make his case.
According to research Shenkman cites, only half of American voters can name the three branches of the federal government. And 49 percent of Americans believe the president has the authority to suspend the constitution -- which he does not.
A majority of the country, says Shenkman, continued to believe that the 9/11 attacks had something to do with Saddam Hussein and Iraq long after the 9/11 commission reported that it had found absolutely zero involvement by Iraq.
So how do many American voters get their information on the candidates? Thirty-second sound bites on television -- many of them harsh negative attacks by one candidate on another -- and scuttlebutt among family, neighbors, coworkers and fellow church-goers.
TV ratings do show that most of the country follows some or all of the Democratic and Republican national conventions, so at least that is something. There are also indications that liberals and moderates garner many of their impressions by reading Internet blogs, and conservatives put their trust in what's said on the right-wing talk shows.
Reading mainstream print media would help. Newspapers such as The Herald-Dispatch carry Associated Press reports on candidates of both main parties and also, occasionally, on those running on alternative party platforms, such as Ralph Nader (Independent Party) and Bob Barr (Libertarian). And newspapers feature columnists on opposing sides of many political issues.
I recommend subscribing to a weekly or bimonthly news magazine as well: Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report or The Economist. And for my money the best television wrapup of the news is "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer" on PBS at 7 p.m. Eastern. C-SPAN brings us wonderful live coverage of House and Senate debates and committee hearings, plus interviews with leading political figures, authors and journalists. National Public Radio is unparalleled for news and views on the radio airwaves.
Then please take the time to check out candidates' Web sites. I hear people saying things like, "Barack Obama hasn't been very specific," or "I still don't know what John McCain stands for."
Their positions are spelled out in great detail on their Web sites. As voters we owe it to ourselves to go there and take a good look.
After Obama named Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate, a local TV news team did interviews with random passersby on a Charleston street corner and featured one woman who reacted to the announcement by saying, "Biden? I wish the Democrats had nominated somebody I'd heard of or knew something about."
I felt like shouting at the tube, "Lady, if you've never heard of Joe Biden, where have you been on the planet? He's run for president twice and has one of the longest and most interesting records of any U.S. senator." I think she would have been happier if Obama had tabbed Oprah or Jerry Springer or Britney Spears -- somebody whose name she at least knew.
We need a more informed and discerning electorate. The fate of our democracy may depend upon it.
John Patrick Grace wrote and edited for The Associated Press from Chicago, New York and Rome. He is now a book editor and publisher and lives in Huntington.
