The question itself is stupid, so why would you expect an intelligent answer?
Pollsters regularly ask passersby ridiculous questions, like “What celebrity would you vote for as President?” No matter what answer people give, it’s likely to be ridiculous! We don’t KNOW Tom Hanks! We don’t KNOW Harrison Ford! We don’t KNOW Arnold Schwarzenegger (who wasn’t born in the USA, and isn’t eligible anyway)! We don’t know anything about celebrities, beyond the gossipy todbits we pick up in the media.
If asked a question like that, most people would either scoff at the question or say the first famous name that popped into their heads. Mel Gibson might be the first celebrity to pop into people’s heads, and he seems like a nice guy, so they might say “Mel Gibson.” In the same way, Microsoft is the first big corporation that pops into many people’s heads, so they said “Microsoft.”
Did anyone see who the big “winners” were on the People’s Choice Awards? The awards for “Best Star of a New Series” went to John Goodman and Bette Midler. Hilarious, because both shows were FLOPS! Goodman’s show had already been cancelled before the awards show, and Bette’s was dead a few weeks later. So, WHY did people vote for Goodman and Midler, if their shows were so unpopular? Because, when you ask a person a question like “Who’s your favorite star in a new show,” he’s likely to draw a blank. He’ll ask, “Um, wel… uh, who is there?” Given a list of names like “John Goodman, William Petersen, and Joseph Schmeaux,” he’s likely to pick Goodman, because that’s the one name he recognizes! (Never mind that he NEVER watched “Normal, Ohio,” but always watches Petersen in “CSI”).
So, if you read an article saying, “American people support Mel Gibson for President,” ignore it! It was a dumb question, and the answer is meaningless. Whether you love him or loathe him, Mel Gibson is NOT going to be the President, and Microsoft is NOT going to run America.
