In US 20% believe Obama is Muslim

Americans are not idiots,not even 20%.The few hard core idiots were in Bush administration,most of them are finding other means to make more money.But Americans have deliberately been kept ignorant.

"........During the Three Mile island nuclear power plant accident in Pensalvania in 1979,a Japense journalist,Atsuo Kaneko of the Japanese Kyoto News Service,spent several hours interviewing people temporarily housed at a hockey rink-mostly children ,pregnant women and young mothers.He discovered that none of them had heard of Hiro Shima.Mention of the name drew a blank".
"And a judge in Oakland California said he was appalled when some 50 prospective jurors for a death-penalty murder trial were questioned and"none of them knew who Hitler was".
(Cited in 'Killing Hope' by Willam Blum).

And the idiot of all idiots,Cheney said in a television interview:'Pyramids of Iraq were older than the pyramids of Egypt".And to our dismay and disgust that Americans,in vast and significant numbers,believed this ignorant idiot that Saddam Hussain possessed WMDs.

Ignorant masses are boon to the ruling elites everywhere.They can lie to us and deceive us without much ado as long we are kept ignorants.

What i feel about it ts poor general awareness nothing else because as some people says about American that even they land in Sydney they feel that they are in USA.

But why lack of awareness in this age of media onslaught,24x7 news channels?Both serve the power-that-be.It is in the interests of ruling class that media keeps our attention focused on irrelevant issues such as affairs of actresses and actors,songs and dance,sports.Whatever correct and relevant information we get,it is always through independent media not the gutter media which for our consumption is called mainstream media.Even the veteran Indian Journalist,Khushwant Singh, writes in his autobiography that largest circulated dailies are worst newspapers.

Next job which media is paid for is to shape and mould our opinions,which at some point of time ceases to be our opinions-we call them rented  opinions;which are someone else opinions but we say:in our or my opinion.Media has shunned all ethical norms,turned into most effective and trusted tool of false propaganda.In this age of propaganda,hiding the truth and disimination of misinformation is a lucrative business.Murdoch is a living and legendary example.

look friend  they are badly confused with his name i.e Barak Husain Obama...and Americans are well known for their confusion .see in the recent downturn in economy they are extending the socialistic pills of bailouts and acquiring stakes in the private company to support their economy.

Carl marks sheds are solving the problems of capitalism...

so they are confused????

My friend,the US government,whose business is business and to protect business interests even if an elected government is to be thrown and replaced by most brutal dictator,a war has to be waged to destroy infrastructure and rebuild by American companies;it all matters little.

US government is buying shares not to acquire controlling shares of banks to take over the management ,whose directors have cheated millions to the tune of billions of $.As soon as economy recovers,the process of disinvestment will begin.Sharks and crocodiles will be back in the business of loot and scoot.

Karl Marx is no longer read.State capitalism in Russia and Estern Europe failed him.

I hate to say it, Americans have to be the most ill-educated and unliterate people around. What is really sad is that we do it to ourselves because we so choose to.

you cant give your verdict like that for all Americans because 80% right only 20% are comes under this bracket according to poll.

Hi kumar,  I base my opinion upon my observations and experience. I see it even in the news, it amazes me that people with college degrees can't even write a sentence. Don't even ask me about hand writing. I see it when I go to some of the story sites (avid SciFi fan), the misspelling and confusion of details really detracts from what could of been a good story. Children are not even taught HOW to use a dictionary. And how many do you know that can do simple math in their head or on paper. I had a teacher in college that almost the first words to the class was "no calculators during the first semester". I loved it, half the class panicked. This was college level intro math: algebra, geometry and trigonometry; things that should of learned in junior high and high school. I've known lots of teachers in my time and even lectured for one or two.You are, in a way, right in saying that I can't make a verdict like. But from my experiences and observations can not lead me to any other conclusions, that American, for the greater part, ill-educated and unliterate.

Here is a big part of the reason why 20% think Obama is a Muslim:Franklin Graham: President Obama Was Born a Muslim
Much more importantly, once a narrative is established in the media and in the blogoshere it doesn't matter if it is true or false. For a certain percentage of people the perception becomes the reality. And no amount of truth and information to the contrary will change the minds of those that "believe" otherwise. Take the case of Saddam Hussein and WMD"S. To this day a percentage of the American public still "believes" he possessed WMD'S.