David M: August 2006

A reason to vote Republican

If Democrats were in power now, and were responsive to their voters, the United States would distance itself from Israel.

56% of Democrats think the US should take a more neutral posture in Arab-Israeli affairs or align itself more with Arab countries. Compare that with the 64% of Republicans who think the US should continue to align itself with Israel.

Similarly, in the current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, only 29% of Democrats think Israel has acted properly, compared with 64% of Republicans.

Michael Barone analyzes the data in his blog:

Let that sink in: A majority, 56 percent, of Democrats think Israel did not act properly, while an even bigger majority, 64 percent, of Republicans think Israel did act properly. That's a pretty sharp difference....

Left-wing anti-Israel sentiment is not confined to a few odd corners of the academic world; it has become a mass constituency in the Democratic Party. Nor is the view that the Palestinians and Hezbollah are virtuous and deprived Third World victims while Israel is a First World oppressor limited to old media (see CNN, BBC, large parts of the New York Times, etc., etc.). It's also the view of a mass constituency in the Democratic Party.

Hat tip: Power Line's Scott Johnson, who notes that Barone and others are drawing parallels to 1930s Europe.

News about news

Via Daniel Freedman, a survey on news consumption from The Pew Research Center. Here are a few snippets:

Declining MSM

Americans who regularly watch network TV news: 60% in 1993 and 28% in 2006.
Americans who read a newspaper yesterday: 58% in 1994 and 40% in 2006.

Credibility

CNN, which has the highest viewer credibility in radio and televisions news, has also seen the largest decline in credibility since 1998. 60 Minutes has the second highest viewer credibility; ABC News, CBS News, NPR and MSNBC have the lowest.
The Wall Street Journal and US News have the highest credibility in print media.
Republicans trust Fox News Channel and The Wall Street Journal more than Democrats do.
Democrats trust the other 16 media outlets in the study more than Republicans do.

Traits associated with higher news knowledge*

Male
White
Educated
Republican
Get news from Weekly Standard, New Republic, Rush Limbaugh, New Yorker, Atlantic.

Traits associated with lower news knowledge*

Female
Black
Young
Democrat or Independent
Get news from CNBC, MSNBC, morning news shows, religious radio.

* News knowledge was based on correct identification of the Secretary of State, the President of Russia and the party that controls the House of Representatives.

The Flags of Our Sons

Maybe it's just my recent lack of sleep, but this NYT story of a fallen marine brought tears to my eyes.

The disconnect between those who serve and those of us who are beneficiaries of their service has always felt great to me, but never greater than at that moment.

The mom and dad stepped away from the man in the T-shirt and to another window, still not touching, their movement synchronized by grief. They waited until the marine in charge came back up from the runway to escort them to a government vehicle. I went to my car and drove to work with no ambition for the day other than to be worthy.

Hat tip.