60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll: November Edition

Welcome to the beautiful month of November known for two of America's most revered traditions, Thanksgiving and elections. It has been said that it is best to avoid discussing religion and politics among polite company, but the 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll has never shied away from controversial subjects, especially those that can ignite such emotional opinions and discourse.

In deference to the impending election, this month's poll begins with a question about politics and it ends with a question on how Americans view religion. Despite the fact that Thanksgiving is a non-denominational holiday, most Americans find it to be a good time to reflect on and be thankful for the many wonderful blessings and freedoms we share. (Whoops, please forgive the religious/ political allusions).

And now the results please...

Nearly four in ten Americans voted for the "one and done" option for the number of terms the president has earned thus far. Twenty six percent believe he deserves "four more years" already. The final one third of Americans that will swing the decision in either direction are not sure yet. It appears that the president still has two years left on the clock to persuade those who are undecided that he is deserving of a second term.

(CBS)

A turkey and a football game are a given on Thanksgiving, but who would have thought that 36 percent of Americans would choose a good nap to round out the trifecta? A good family argument was a distant second with 18 percent of the vote. But after a travel delay, an exciting football game, a stiff drink, and mounds of turkey (and the tryptophan that comes with it), who wouldn't savor a good long nap?

And now it's time for the obligatory "death bed confession" question. Not surprisingly most of us (52 percent) will likely wish we had seen more of this world.

Surprisingly, 15 percent would regret not pushing hard enough for health care reform, presumably out of a desire for a longer life with which to see more of the world. Fourteen percent think they may regret not being a better parent. What is very surprising is that so few people don't expect to regret not quitting their job and spending their money taking advantage of their single years. There is only one possible explanation for this. A lot of single people are planning on quitting their jobs and spending their hard earned money buying the world a drink.

Despite its "Mad" popularity as a spot on period entertainment and cultural phenomenon, only 18 percent of Americans would actually care to work at Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce. Those chain-smoking, three martini lunches will eventually kill you if the cut-throat nature of the business doesn't get you first.

Thirty one percent of Americans chose "The Office's" Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and the zany array of misfits that kind of work there. Nearly 40 percent would stay unemployed rather than work for either company, proving that a dysfunctional workplace may be good for TV ratings, but not so hot for getting good help.

(CBS)

Good news for International House of Pancakes: 89 percent of Americans say you can drop the full name and just go with IHOP. Also getting good news in name recognition was 60 Minutes' parent, Columbia Broadcasting System with 81percent, as well as Global Positional System and Health Maintenance Organization with 77 percent each. Bad news for that dwindling class of people known as White Anglo Saxon Protestants whose forbears the Pilgrims, Puritans, and founding fathers established our country.

To all of you WASPs, you are now officially a minority (42 percent), at least in terms of Americans recognizing your acronym.

It was a cool evening in December 1773 when several rebels destroyed the British East India's shipment of tea rather than pay what they considered to be an unjust tax on it. It was the first spark that was to become the conflagration known as the American Revolution.

Seventy five percent of Americans knew that it took place in Boston, Mass. Do you think Samuel Adams would attend today's Tea Party?

(CBS)

Whether it was the lack of proof about WMDs or the trillion dollar price tag, 62 percent of Americans think that the Iraq War was a mistake.

Half of Americans think that Prohibition was a mistake. (You would have to be nearly 100 years old to remember enjoying an illegal drink back then).

Nineteen percent think that Social Security was a bad idea and eight percent think the Voting Rights Act was ill-advised. Really?

Forty percent of Americans think that it is cruel to kill animals for their fur. The other 58 percent think that it is either fine (26 percent) or don't care (32 percent). To those that don't care, we provide an old axiom, "silence implies acceptance." In some cases, you are either for something or you are against it.

Only 44 percent of Americans polled think that they could amputate their own arm to save their lives. Fifty two percent of men and 32 percent of women said they could, while 34 percent of men and 49 percent of women said they could not. Fourteen percent don't know. The instinct for survival is very strong in humans. If push came to shove and it was truly life or death, we suspect a much higher percentage of our respondents could find the will to do it.

More than half (55 percent) of Americans say they practice their religion devoutly. The remainder range from lukewarm to cold. As Thanksgiving approaches, whatever our beliefs may be, let's pause to give thanks for the many good and great things that our country stands for and for the freedoms that so many before us have fought to preserve.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Read more about this poll and the results.