Civility and Politics

According to 35 year veteran reporter Miles Benson, "The venomous conflict of the 2004 presidential election, which has pushed leaders to new levels of partisan hostility, has spread to ordinary Americans."

Not only is Benson implying that the country is divided, he is also suggesting that the divide has become rancorous. Are we? Has it?

Polls suggest that Benson is correct in the first point. The most recent Washington Post poll (June 20 - margin of error +/- 3) illustrates that point -- the country is as divided today as it was in November 2000, when Al Gore had the greater popular vote but George Bush the greater electoral vote:

If the 2004 presidential election were being held today, would you vote for (George W. Bush, the Republican), (John Kerry, the Democrat), or Ralph Nader, the independent? Which one are you leaning toward?

Bush : 44
Kerry : 48
Nader : 6

Another example of divisiveness -- or partisanship -- is demonstrated in a June 2004 study by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

The study authors assert that news consumption habits reflect political polarization. For example, 31 percent of the Republicans in the study reported watching FOX News compared with 21 percent of the Democrats. Contrast that with CNN, which was named by 28 percent of the Democrats polled but only 19 percent of the Republicans.

Also, 52 percent of the regular Fox viewers describe themselves as "politically conservative: but four years ago only 40 percent did. Although about the same percent of Republicans (29 percent) and Democrats (24 percent) view FOX News as credible, FOX "is the most trusted news source among Republicans but is among the least trusted by Democrats."

Finally, most Americans (58 percent) do not pick a new source that mirrors their viewpoint on politics and issues -- that's not important to them. But having their news source reflect their worldview is important to almost half of the Republicans polled (45 percent) and about a third of the Democrats (36 percent). And 41 percent of those who call themselves conservative prefer to get their news from FOX. The largest partisan gaps in news sources are the O'Reilly factor (21 percent conservative, 2 percent liberal; Rush Limbaugh (20 percent conservative, 5 percent liberal; and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (2 percent conservative, 14 percent liberal).