The 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll
Spring has sprung and this month's 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll has a little something for everyone. For lovers of the arts, we ask questions about which of the big events that take place in our culture you pay the most attention to. Also, which filmmaker you would choose to direct your life story, and which great mecca for music you would be most likely to visit. For those who love Washington, politics and history there are questions on the Tea Party movement, Napoleonic history, and which top secret venue you would pick for a behind the scenes look at what really goes on. Finally, for those that are in to questions on social issues, there are thought provoking questions on assisted suicide, sex addiction, gays in society and how much money does one need to be considered "rich"? And now the results please…
There is no bigger potential audience than that of the finale of a top flight television series. Twenty-eight percent of those asked would choose the T.V. event above the others, although Apple's new products and technology continue to close the gap. New works by the creators of Harry Potter and Avatar received less votes in that order. It appears that J.K. Rowling and James Cameron will have to content themselves with being obscenely rich.
It's no surprise that 29 percent of music fans would pick Bourbon Street first because you get to do some pretty good partying along with hearing really great music. Just behind that is the Grand Ole Opry and the still vibrant Nashville music scene. Despite their iconic status, Abbey Road, Motown and Graceland are less in demand, presumably because the superstars that inhabited those venues are no longer creating the songs that immortalized them.
Ten times more people would rather hang with Obama than find Osama. It's a pretty sure bet that the food is a lot better at the White House "mess" than the goat and flat bread being served near some Peshawar area cave. CIA headquarters and NASA's mission control are neck and neck for second probably due to the amazing secrets they possess. Only 15 percent of respondents think that being a fly on the wall at Buckingham Palace would be a good thing and despite Google's many amenities and assets only nine percent said that would be their top choice. It might be fun, but it's still work.
Dr. Jack is still a lightning rod for Americans. Assisted suicide is a divisive and complex moral dilemma with no easy answers. A snapshot in time shows that 40 percent of Americans currently think that he's not as bad as he's made out to be, while 34 percent think that he is. Fifteen percent comprised mostly of liberals think that he is principled and humane. The debate that Dr. Kevorkian very publically started is bound to continue for a very long time.
When it comes time to film their life story, Americans overwhelmingly want Steven Spielberg behind the camera. The other male directors, with their well known points of view and eccentricities, all got about the same number of votes. The only female director on the list, Nora Ephron got only six percent, with a miniscule two percent of men choosing her. So, final question: who were those two percent?
Nearly 30 percent of responders think the Tea Party movement is the beginning of a much needed revolution in America. Another 28 percent think that it's just one of many groups speaking out. Fifteen percent think the group is too extreme, and 18 percent don't know or care but they'll take cream and sugar in their coffee. In 1773, the original Tea Party rebels were upset about unjust taxes without representation. Today, they rebel against unjust representation with taxes.
Twenty-eight percent think sex addiction can be a genuine medical condition. A third say no and another third say maybe but the celebrities who bring this on themselves are still jerks. What's the worst part of this whole cause célèbre? Having to tell your kids what it means when it's plastered all over the news.
Slightly more than half of those asked would support an openly gay person in a top government position or even as Miss America. The world of sports does even better at over 60 percent. The pace of acceptance continues along the lines of glacial melting and beach erosion, slow, steady and inevitable.
Now for the results of our bonus "political history" question: 43 percent correctly guessed Napoleon and another 23 percent admitted they didn't know. The others received a small percentage of guesses. Men were more likely to know it in part because they tend to know more stuff about famous battles. So now that it appears healthcare reform will be enacted, that senators better come up with a new metaphor. How about healthcare reform being the president's "Lazarus" risen from the dead.
Everything is relative. Responses to this type of question are usually subjective in proportion to the income of the person asked. That said, 27 percent of this group said you'd need to make north of 300 grand to qualify as being "rich." Twenty-two percent said at least 500K and only 16 percent thought over 100k makes you rich. But more reflective of inflation and outsized Wall Street bonuses, one third of those polled think it takes at least $1 million or a lot more than that to qualify. Nice work if you can get it.