:: NEWS COCKTAIL aka BlahBlahBlog ::
"Everything is being compressed into tiny tablets. You take a little pill of news every day - 23 minutes - and that's supposed to be enough." -Walter Cronkite, RE TV news. The Web has changed that for many, however, and here is an extra dose for your daily news cocktail. This prescription tends to include surveillance and now war-related links, along with the occasional pop culture junk and whatever else seizes my attention as I scan online news sites.:: 11.07.2004 ::
:: Two Americas? ::
Bush, Kerry Voters Differ on View of U.S.
NANCY BENAC
Associated Press
SJ Mercury News
WASHINGTON - The nation is emerging from the 2004 presidential election with two very different portraits of itself sketched by two very different halves of its population.
George Bush's voters go to church more often than John Kerry's and are more likely to oppose gay marriage and abortion. They are more likely to own guns and to feel better-off financially than they did four years ago.
Sure, they are concerned about terrorism. But they are more concerned about "moral values."
Most think things are going well for the United States in Iraq, and that the war has made America more secure.
They are satisfied with the Republican Bush administration; many are enthusiastic.
Voters who supported the Democratic nominee, by contrast, are more worried about the economy. They view "moral values" and terrorism as lesser concerns. They go to church, but less frequently. Few see any improvement in their financial situation over the past four years.
They gave their votes to the Massachusetts senator because they thought he represented hope for change. They are far more worried about events in Iraq and the job situation at home. Almost half feel angry at the administration.
It all adds up to two different mindsets, reinforcing the idea of a schism in the political landscape.
Bush's victory left Emma Starr, a writer from New York, feeling devastated and more than a bit disconnected from the other half of America.
"We should have two distinct nations," she said after getting word of Kerry's concession as she left a Brooklyn food co-op. "Why should we be forced to live together under the rule of an evil dictator?"
For every voter like Starr, there was at least one like Clifford Barneman, a psychologist from Little Egg Harbor Township in New Jersey. He voted for Bush as a "man of his word" who had strong values.
Read more here.
posted by me
:: 9:55:00 AM [+] ::
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