# This just in: most Bush supporters too stupid to breathe, much less vote **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 22, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590 "2004-10-22T13:22:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Opus1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/858c86/32.png) [@Opus1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opus1)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/1 "2004-10-22T13:22:54Z")
A new [study](http://www.pipa.org/OnlineReports/Pres_Election_04/Report10_21_04.pdf) from the University of Maryland confirms what the rational among us have known all along: that most Bush supporters are living in a fantasy world. According to the study, 47% of Bush supporters still believe that Iraq had WMD, and 25% that it had a major program for developing them. Remember, Bush himself has **joked** about his inability to find WMD in Iraq, challenged Kerry as to whether he’d still have approved the war knowing that such WMD would not be found, and virtually every member of his administration has been forced to defend the war in the absence of WMD on every political show in the country, every day for the last year. The continued ignorance of his supporters is astounding. What would the press say if 47% of Democrats continued to believe that Clinton did not have sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky? Bush supporters are equally ignorant about Iraq’s ties to Al Qaeda, Iraq’s involvement in 9/11, the 9/11 Commission’s report, and what the rest of the world thinks of the U.S. and our war in Iraq. In fact, Bush supporters are more ignorant or misinformed about his positions than Kerry supporters are of his in virtually every category, with the sole exception being defense spending, in which a higher percentage correctly perceived that Bush wishes to expand it than Kerry supporters who correctly thought that Kerry wished to keep it the same. The brief report is truly fascinating reading, riddled with phrases like “cognitive dissidence,” “ignore dissonant information,” and “magnitude of the denial goes beyond the ordinary.” If anyone is wondering how this moron is still running even in the popular vote, here’s your answer. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/2 "2004-10-22T13:34:12Z")
> [@](#): > > riddled with phrases like “cognitive dissidence,” The mind rebels! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/3 "2004-10-22T13:37:17Z")
Lame. Granted, many of Bush’s supporters are bone-ignorant of the facts, but so are many of Kerry’s supporters. The tragic fact is that most Americans, on both sides of the aisle, are woefully uninformed about the issues. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/4 "2004-10-22T13:44:18Z")
The study also looks at Kerry supporters and found (on these issues anyway) that Kerry supporters were better informed. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/5 "2004-10-22T13:56:14Z")
Well, misinformed dolts they may be, but there sure is a bunch of them. Judging from the thunderous chorus of boos when Kerry’s face appeared on the screens at the sports bar where I watched the Astros-Cards game last night, it would appear that Bush has the East Texas wannabe-jock vote pretty much locked up. Hey, maybe it was just because he’s from Massachusetts, and last I checked that’s where the Boston Red Sox are located, but still… ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/6 "2004-10-22T14:05:16Z")
Well, I hope Kerry will be able to console himself after losing by reminding himself that he was right all along, but simply failed to get his message across to the stupid people. That should work. Of course, a candidate truly ready to be President would have been aware of the intelligence of the American people (or lack of it) and planned his campaign accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/7 "2004-10-22T14:06:34Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Of course, a candidate truly ready to be President would have been aware of the intelligence of the American people (or lack of it) and planned his campaign accordingly. Ahhhh…the very crux of leadership. Sometimes I like you. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/8 "2004-10-22T14:22:16Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Well, I hope Kerry will be able to console himself after losing by reminding himself that he was right all along, but simply failed to get his message across to the stupid people. That should work. > > Of course, a candidate truly ready to be President would have been aware of the intelligence of the American people (or lack of it) and planned his campaign accordingly. Nothing like someone willing to wallow in the mud with the pigs, and even seems to like it. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/9 "2004-10-22T14:28:22Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > Nothing like someone willing to wallow in the mud with the pigs, and even seems to like it. He doesn’t like it, he craves it. Ne-gets off on it. Sam ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/10 "2004-10-22T14:28:45Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Of course, a candidate truly ready to be President would have been aware of the intelligence of the American people (or lack of it) and planned his campaign accordingly. So his mistake was to fail to take into account the incredible stupidity of the American public? ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/11 "2004-10-22T14:30:13Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Of course, a candidate truly ready to be President would have been aware of the intelligence of the American people (or lack of it) and planned his campaign accordingly. This is one of the saddest things I’ve read today. It’s also one of the most intelligent. It isn’t even eleven yet, so there’s still time to beat it. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/12 "2004-10-22T14:31:25Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Of course, a candidate truly ready to be President would have been aware of the intelligence of the American people (or lack of it) and planned his campaign accordingly. Actually the thing is that Bush is a better candidate for president while Kerry would make a better president. And yes there is a huge difference in the job requirements for being a presidential candidate and being the actual president. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/13 "2004-10-22T14:33:13Z")
> [@Opus1](#): > > A new [study](http://www.pipa.org/OnlineReports/Pres_Election_04/Report10_21_04.pdf) from the University of Maryland confirms what the rational among us have known all along: that most Bush supporters are living in a fantasy world. > > According to the study, 47% of Bush supporters still believe that Iraq had WMD, and 25% that it had a major program for developing them. Ummm…He did have them. He killed thousands of his own people with them. Or is that one of the points to be ignored according to the Liberal Handbook? > [@](#): > > The continued ignorance of his supporters is astounding. What would the press say if 47% of Democrats continued to believe that Clinton did not have sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky? Nothing. I wouldn’t be surprised if a helluva lot more than 47% still believe that it was all a vast right wing conspiracy. > [@](#): > > Bush supporters are equally ignorant about Iraq’s ties to Al Qaeda, Iraq’s involvement in 9/11, the 9/11 Commission’s report, and what the rest of the world thinks of the U.S. and our war in Iraq. Really? No ties to Al Qaeda? Wish somebody had told Clinton that. “ARE AL QAEDA’S links to Saddam Hussein’s Iraq just a fantasy of the Bush administration? Hardly. The Clinton administration also warned the American public about those ties and defended its response to al Qaeda terror by citing an Iraqi connection.” [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/527uwabl.asp](http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/527uwabl.asp) Also in that same article is a discussion of Iraq’s buying nerve gas from the al Shifa pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum. Destroying that plant was one of the few things Clinton did right while he was in office. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/14 "2004-10-22T14:34:49Z")
Even if we set aside the rather sloppy writing of the report (e.g., “…why are Bush supporters holding so clinging so tightly to beliefs…”) and presume that they were substantially less sloppy with their numbers, you seem to have reached a different conclusion from the report. It does not say that Bush supporters are too stupid to breathe; rather, it says that: > [@](#): > > The roots of the resistance to this information very likely lie in the traumatic experience of 9/11, and equally in the near pitch-perfect leadership that President Bush showed in its immediate wake. In response to an unprecedented attack on US soil, with the prospect of further such attacks, Bush responded with a grace and resolve that provided reassurance to an anxious public. In the war with the Taliban he showed restraint as well as effectiveness. Large numbers of Americans had a powerful bonding experience with the president–a bond that they may be loath to relinquish. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/15 "2004-10-22T14:37:43Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Ummm…He did have them. He killed thousands of his own people with them. Or is that one of the points to be ignored according to the Liberal Handbook? Newsflash: We better invade Germany, I hear they are taking over Europe and are killng Jews and stuff. Your inability to tell current events from past events is frightening. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/16 "2004-10-22T14:40:16Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Really? No ties to Al Qaeda? Wish somebody had told Clinton that. > “ARE AL QAEDA’S links to Saddam Hussein’s Iraq just a fantasy of the Bush administration? Hardly. The Clinton administration also warned the American public about those ties and defended its response to al Qaeda terror by citing an Iraqi connection.” > [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/527uwabl.asp](http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/527uwabl.asp) So fucking what? Clinton was wrong as well. BFD No connections have been found. Deal with it. They were at best wrong at worst lying cunts. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/17 "2004-10-22T14:40:41Z")
From the 1956 Presidential campaign: Unnamed supporter: “You have the vote of every thinking person!” Adlai Stevenson: “That’s not enough, madam, we need a majority.” ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/18 "2004-10-22T14:41:15Z")
Why, they’re PhDs! And they have numbers and everything! It must be true! ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/19 "2004-10-22T14:42:16Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > So fucking what? Clinton was wrong as well. It wasn’t just the president. Her husband bought into it too. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590/20 "2004-10-22T14:44:10Z")
Egads, some of those same idiots are on this very board. Does anyone else get the feeling that Bush followers are some sort of cult? I saw a picture of Bush the other day with a halo around his head. People are deifying the guy, for god sakes. They actually think he’s some sort of holy prophet. Personally, when I see him, I see a clown. If he were to put on an orange wig and a red foam nose, I probably wouldn’t notice. A clown. An evil, knife-wielding clown. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-just-in-most-bush-supporters-too-stupid-to-breathe-much-less-vote/270590.md?page=2)