The 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll
This month's 60 Minutes/ Vanity Fair Poll probes the American psyche on topics such as whether they can explain "the public option" ( they can't) or what people will be doing at their company holiday parties if they have one to go to ( half don't). We also attempt to determine people's opinions on subjects such as the future of the U. S. Postal Service, the legitimacy of domestic militias, recovering lost artifacts, participating in national ceremonies and more. We begin with a monumental question; the greatest civilizations in history, such as Egypt, Greece and Rome, were prolific at building monuments to themselves, and America is no exception.
It appears that the top two choices for Rushmore are split along party lines, with Democrats pulling for JFK and Republicans opting for Ronald Reagan. Poor FDR - he only got third place despite steering us through the Great Depression and most of World War II. We guess that he was hurt by the fact that many of those he helped are no longer with us, as well as having had more than three terms to accomplish it all. President Obama, in fourth place, will have to make do with his Nobel Peace Prize for now and Ike, Andy Jackson and LBJ bring up the rear. It's just as well that no one voted for LBJ - it would have been tough to carve those giant ears to scale.
Laying a wreath at the tomb of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier would be an honor for any American citizen, as evidenced by being the choice of half of all respondents. And lighting the Olympic Torch or flipping the coin at the Super Bowl would be very cool. But has racing cars really eclipsed baseball as an American pastime? Say it ain't so, Joe. As for the esteem that Americans currently hold for the Stock Exchange, to put it in their own parlance, the numbers speak for themselves.
No wonder the Post Office is considering ceasing Saturday service, they're the Rodney Dangerfield of the delivery industry. Less than half of the postal patrons queried use the U.S. Mail full time now. Our first postmaster, Ben Franklin, would be chagrined to see such a precipitous drop in use. The old adage, "neither snow, sleet, rain or dark of night will stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" is still true, but unfortunately it's due to the fact that they have so much less to deliver.
First things first, this isn't about the heroic Minutemen. It's about American citizens bound by the same laws and Constitution as everybody else. Come to think of it, those militia men from Lexington and Concord had some pretty choice words for old King George and their illegal acts are now the stuff of legend. Overall those who were polled give a slight edge that the militias are exercising their constitutional rights. Only time will tell if they're right, or if another revolution is brewing. But let's remember, there is no kingdom treating us like trash on our own shores anymore.
Two thirds of our respondents say they can't really explain the "public option" when it comes to health care reform. We don't know how many of the over 1,000 pages of the draft legislation is devoted to it, but knowing our legislative branch's penchant for long, tedious prattling, it's a good bet that our elected officials probably couldn't explain it to the man on the street either.
Well it's good to know that 58 percent of Americans polled love the good old U S of A so much that they wouldn't raise their family outside of its borders, period. But freedom fries aside, 28 percent think France wouldn't be so bad. It has a lot to recommend it such as food, culture, architecture, les femmes - you get the picture. As for Brazil, if you were loaded and could afford 24-hour security it's pretty exotic. With regard to China, India or Russia, Americans probably won't be buying homes in those countries any time soon.
In a "Rush" to judgment, Mr. Limbaugh scored the most with 26 percent of the vote. His competitor, Mr. Beck edged out the last two Republican vice presidential candidates by a nose. It goes to show that you can attain more influence being an entertainer with a face for radio than by being potentially one heartbeat away from becoming leader of the free world. Republican Congressman John Boehner, the only elected member listed in our poll, came in dead last. Boy, the great Bill Buckley would have had a field day with this one.
Britney Spears is a bit easier on the eyes than Rush Limbaugh. Unfortunately for her, 28 percent of those polled think she's very hard on the ears. In fact, according to them, they'd give up their mother if they were forced to listen to her music for hours on end. She's not the only artist to be singled out - 14 percent would rather not listen to AC/DC when being tortured. No word if that was a commentary on the new AC/DC or classic AC/DC.
Ever since Robert Ballard found the Titanic, we've been dreaming of finding the next great artifact lost to history. Rediscovering Atlantis would be mind boggling, and finding Amelia's plane, Nixon's lost tape or Cleopatra's barge would no doubt get a lot of tongues wagging. However, finding Noah's Ark remains the Holy Grail of lost antiquities (or is the Holy Grail the holy grail?). Noah's Ark blows them all out of the water with 43 percent, after all it's tough to compete with something that's been touched by the Hand of God.
Bah humbug! It appears that our Dickensian times have thrown cold eggnog over one of our favorite inventions, the company Christmas (strike that) Holiday Party. Half of all respondents aren't getting a party this year due to corporate parsimony, or worse being unemployed. (The percentage of respondents that said they don't work eerily mirrors our national unemployment rate). It's good to know that at least 7 percent of the people plan on making fools of themselves fueled by either alcohol or lust. You can buy entertainment like that, but in this economy it's better to get it for free.
Read more about our 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll results.