Not that the questions were all easy, but a new Pew Research Center poll finds the state of public knownedge about current U.S affairs to be pretty dismal. The news quiz, conducted Oct. 1-4 among 1,002 adults reached on cell phones and landlines, was announced this week.
It asked 12 multiple choice questions about people, events and issues in the news. Respondents answered an average of 5.3 questions correctly. That’s well below a D grade, at 44 percent. But hey, if only Balloon Boy coulda been among the questions.
Here’s one that really challenged people: Only 18 percent could correctly identify Max Baucus as chair of the Senate Finance Committee, which has developed legislation to reform U.S. health care. Fewer than a third knew how many troops we have in Afghanistan.