60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll: November Edition

Welcome to the 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll for November. November is a time for beautiful fall days, exciting football games, leaf peeping and then of course leaf raking. It is also known for two very important holidays. After ten years of war, it is especially important to honor our nation's soldiers. We do that on November 11th, Veteran's Day. Formerly known as Armistice Day, it commemorates the cessation of hostilities during World War I that commenced on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. President Wilson noted, "Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service." It was later renamed and expanded to include Veterans of all of our wars. May all those who have served our country be rightfully acknowledged and honored on that day.

And then of course there is Thanksgiving. It is not commercial. It is not owned by any specific religion or group. Like the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth in 1621, it is a time for all of our people to gather together and give thanks for family, friends, food and freedom. What's better than that? To all of you, a most Happy Thanksgiving.

And now the results of our Poll...

Thirty-eight percent of Americans do not believe humans carry Neanderthal genes in their DNA. Thirty-two percent don't think they have it, but think they know people who do. Seventeen percent believe they carry it and that explains a lot. The word Neanderthal is used to portray someone who is crude or old fashioned in their ways (think of guys in man caves on NFL game days). But this race of men couldn't outrun extinction. Maybe during their "last stand" they were able to hook up with homo sapiens in what may have been the first "mixed marriage" and leave a little of themselves behind. If that's true, it may partly explain why beer sales are through the roof during football season.

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A whopping 83 percent of Americans did not know that "jumped the shark" refers to a scene from the hit series "Happy Days." In the scene the famed greaser Fonzie water skis over sharks in his trademark leather jacket, a scene so incongruous that it was self evident that the show had lost it's creative way. Nine percent think the term itself has jumped the shark and seven percent believe that it is still relevant. That same seven percent is the same approximate number (and probably many of the same people) that believe that Congress is doing a good job these days.

If Joe Biden does not run next year, 43 percent of Americans including 60 percent of Democrats) believe that Hillary Clinton would be the best candidate for vice president on the Democratic ticket. Billionaires Warren Buffet and Oprah Winfrey got eight percent and five percent respectively. CIA Director David Petraeus got six percent, Andrew Cuomo four percent and a guy named "Someone Else" received 19 percent. So they would be asking Mrs. Clinton to give up a job of exciting/grueling travel and experiences for which she is widely praised, in return for a job as second string ribbon cutter and worse, president of a do-nothing Senate. The odds are that Joe and Hilary won't be starring in a remake of "Trading Places" anytime soon.

Sixty-eight percent of Americans would settle for five days of mail delivery a week from the U.S. Postal Service. Twenty-one percent could tolerate getting their mail thrice weekly and five percent would take it in a big pile just once a week.

Only four percent would junk it all together and use e-mail. To the vast majority of Americans who love or at least like getting mail (minus the bills), we say, keep those cards and letters coming.

Thirty-two percent of Americans think that a person who has purchased a refreshing beverage should be able to use Starbucks' free wi-fi for as long as they want to. A combined 38 percent think that 30 to 60 minutes after they finish their drink is reasonable before it becomes impolite. Eighteen percent think you should use it only for as long as you're drinking one of their beverages and 11 percent don't know. As the unofficial center of the coffee culture universe in America, Starbucks has a dilemma. Accept the West Coast ethos that says anything goes and sell less coffee, or sell more coffee while alienating many of the people responsible for your huge success. Here's another question, how did such a laid back culture spring from someplace where they push so much caffeine?

Sixty-eight percent of Americans say they have read a book in the last month and 32 percent say they have not. Women (74 percent) and people under 30 (76 percent) read at an even higher rate. So much for those who predicted that technology would hasten the demise of book reading.

This month's fantasy question is timely. Who wouldn't want Thomas Jefferson to pen our next Declaration of Anything? When it comes to who Americans would want to run the country today, William Henry Harrison and the unfulfilled promise of serving only 32 days of his term got only one percent. A paltry eight percent would let Harry Truman give 'em hell.

Even the great Jefferson who no doubt would be just as eloquent with an iPad as with a quill pen got only 14 percent. Twenty-nine percent of Americans would have given FDR an unprecedented fifth term if they could. And the winner with 36 percent of the vote including 68 percent of Republicans and 34 percent of Independents is Ronald Reagan. With our nation craving inspirational leadership a fireside chat from FDR would be nice, but a moving speech from Ronald Reagan might be even better. Something like, "Sometimes when the country's economy is up against it and the breaks aren't going for the unemployed way. Tell them to go out there with all they got and...."

Everyone has heard of dancing in the dark, but eating in the dark? Not so much. Two thirds of Americans would turn a blind eye to eating in complete darkness. The remaining third would be up for the challenge of non-illuminated dining. It could be a dark and seductive experience to savor a meal while letting all of your senses run wild, or you could walk out of there wearing more food than you ate.

Sixty-two percent of Americans think that some of the decisions that they have made in the past might preclude them from running for public office. Thirty-six percent don't think the skeletons in their closets would disqualify them from running. Obviously some people are unfit for office, but how many of those 62 percent might have been a great representative or even president if given the chance? If all were known about FDR, JFK or the Gipper when they ran could they have made it in today's fish bowl?

Marco Rubio is not a film director (five percent), or a Cuban musician (seven percent) or an endurance swimmer (eight percent) or even a ballplayer (14 percent) - although the name fits like a glove. Twenty-five percent of Americans knew that he is a U.S. Senator from Florida. But if he harbors aspirations for national political office which some say he does, he better start working on the 41 percent of Americans who say they have never heard of him.

This poll was conducted at the CBS News interviewing facility among a random sample of 1,012 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone Sept. 28 - Oct. 2, 2011. Phone numbers were dialed from random digit dial samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.

This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. Read more about this poll.