David Gergen and Michael Zuckerman's piece is a good example of dis-informative analysis.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/28/opinion/gergen-broken-government/index.html
Staying within partisan parameters, they neglect the central fact that the country (the population) is not politically split. When polling questions are conducted outside the framework of party doctrine ("Republican," "liberal," etc.), a clearer picture of what Americans want emerges. Gergen and Zuckerman neglect to mention the immense body of data clearly indicating that the house is not divided.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/28/opinion/gergen-broken-government/index.html
Staying within partisan parameters, they neglect the central fact that the country (the population) is not politically split. When polling questions are conducted outside the framework of party doctrine ("Republican," "liberal," etc.), a clearer picture of what Americans want emerges. Gergen and Zuckerman neglect to mention the immense body of data clearly indicating that the house is not divided.
I would also direct readers to this blog's January 18 entry for the Ellis-Stimson findings, which concluded that the
American public is, on average, operationally liberal and at the same time symbolically conservative. When asked about specific government programs and specific social goals, the American public generally wants the government to do more, spend more, and redistribute more.
Moreover, as a senior analyst for CNN and former adviser to multiple administrations, Gergen surely knows (on some level) that Washington is not all that divided either. The "overlap" on Capitol Hill is profound, but cross-aisle disagreement must be maintained. The effort to do so is now clearer than ever; as the Democrats move further to the right of the population, the GOP's rhetoric moves into a kind of fascist (term here used precisely and with caution) vehemence. What is avoided at all costs - by legislators, by news commentators, and others - is the division between the public and Congress.
What Gergen must also know (on some level) is that if he routinely did honest analysis, he wouldn't have the resume he does and wouldn't be writing for CNN.
