What about reporter Pepper Dennis? Trust her?
Harris Interactive | The Harris Poll – Doctors and Teachers Most Trusted Among 22 Occupations and Professions: Fewer Adults Trust the President to Tell the Truth — This list is quite revealing.
What needs to happen, and what I’d be interested in is where bloggers would appear on this list. I’d bet good money that they’d be higher up than journalists.
About half (48%) of U.S. adults generally trust that the President tells the truth – down substantially from 65 percent in 2002. However, 12 of the 22 professions measured by The Harris Poll® are trusted to be truthful by 60 percent or more of U.S. adults, with doctors (85%) and teachers (83%) topping the list. In addition, over half of the occupations measured have seen an increase in the eyes of the general public to tell the truth when compared to 2002. This is a turnaround from four years ago when most occupations saw a decrease in feeling about truthfulness.
Does this surpise ANYONE? Just because you tell me a pile of dung (whatever crap “they” are selling today) is a cherry pie doesn’t mean I will eat it, but someone else will I am sure.
O.K. So, where do the used car sales people belong. In fact, sales people in general seem to be excluded from the list. How odd.
I think it’s interesting that TV Newscasters rate higher than Journalists. At least the poll acknowledges that they aren’t the same thing.
I love the huge jump between lawyers and judges. Who really are the same thing.
Finally, if they don’t trust members of congress then why do they keep reelecting them.
Of course only 34% believe this pol is true.
Most people don’t have clue #1 about whether or not they should trust or not trust anyone else, and base their answers entirely on emotional responses and whatever hearsay info they heard their wife’s brother’s mechanic’s secone cousin’s phamicist’s gardener’s hair styist.
I don’t trust her, but she does cut hair pretty well.
I mean, who would answer “I don’t trust actors.”? Why? Do we regularly interact with actors and get screwed over by them? Sure there are a small number of celebs who are outspoken about politics, on both the left and the right, and I bet the answer “I don’t trust actors” really means, “I think George Clooney is a liberal and I am a conservative.” Add to the fuel the perception that all actors are for some reason loonbat leftists in the 50s communist mold (which just isn’t true) and you have a whole bunch of people who gladly shell out $10 to see the latest action flick, but for whatever reason say they don’t trust this person who 1) never talks to them, 2) doesn’t do business with them, 3) isn’t in a position that requires trust.
This chart just seems pointless.
🙂 How come the president rates only 99% total? (48+47+4=99)
Floating-point round-up error??? Come on! That’s the oldest bug in town!!!
Fabrizio Marana
Given that pollsters rate even lower than journalists, why should we trust this poll? Don’t trust ANYBODY – that’s the safest bet. (But then why should anyone trust my advice?)
I mean, who would answer “I don’t trust actors
Maybe because most are sick and tired of morons like Sean Penn, Barbara Stresand and Susan Serandan getting on TV and telling middle America how to think and vote. Most actors are self absorbed assholes, who I would not want stand in line with at the supermarket more or less trust.
Interesting that TEACHERS are listed as second most trusted, and I find on the same day This Article about ‘liberal professors’ and the Arizona Necon Legislators.
J/P=?
Interesting, where does Ronald “the Messiah” Reagan fall on that list.
Did you know? 47.68% of all the statistics are made up on the spot.
#7 – Maybe because most are sick and tired of morons like Sean Penn, Barbara Stresand and Susan Serandan getting on TV and telling middle America how to think and vote. Most actors are self absorbed assholes, who I would not want stand in line with at the supermarket more or less trust.
Comment by gquaglia — 8/14/2006 @ 12:38 pm
I really don’t recall the last time I saw one of the three actors you mention on TV telling me anything, but when I have heard actors speak their mind, I hear it for what it is. A person telling someone else what they believe. Often, they are asked. I find conservatives in particular to be mighty defensive about hearing the “liberal” views of others and claiming that some view is being shoved down their throat. It’s an idiotic stance. Fame does not strip you of your right to speak, and their speaking doesn’t strip of your right not to listen. And if you were honest about it, the number of times you hear a raving liberal screed from an actor or other celebrity in a year is likely countable on one hand wearing a mitten… Unless you have a neo-con anti-Hollywood axe and you go seeking whatever loose fragment of verbiage you can find.
Your claim that “most” actors are assholes merely points out that you probably don’t actually know any actors, or at least that you haven’t a clue what you are talking about. How many professional actors do you think there are in this country? 50? 100? Actor’s Equity has 46,000+ members, and that’s just one union. Personally, I know maybe 25 professional actors, all of whom work regularly, all of whom are normal people, and none of whom have ever tried to tell you, or anyone else in “middle America” how to think or vote.
Big famous movie stars are rare. Actors, on the other hand, are everywhere, live in every state, and have a wide variety of views and opinion about the world.
Most people seem to think acting is easy, or that anyone can do it. Good actors actually work very hard, put in far more real work hours than the rest of us (unless the rest of us are Emergency Room nurses) and need to be very smart to turn performances are good as those of Sean Penn. Penn may be many things, and you may not agree with his political views, but he is not a moron.
People who are “sick and tired” of having actors telling them how to think and vote should probably get their fat asses up off the couch and go get a life of their own.
They should also stop voting for Republicans.
I think musicians should be on the list too…
It’s the old joke, everyone hates Congress but loves thier Congressman. Enough people love these guys and they keep getting re-elected.
#7 What about prominent Republican actors like Bo Derek and Mary Carey? Should we listen to them when they tell us how to vote?
#7, gq, and what side of the fence do you think Mel Gibson sits on? Or that d*ck h*ad Ron Silver. Don’t forget that unforgettable curmudgeon, Chalton Heston. Then there is the inimitable, Bob Hope.
#14, it’s okay if they’re GOP. Some animals are more equal than others.
who the hell is Ron Silver?
I agree with “OhForTheLoveOf” in that I’m surprised that actors are on the bottom of the list. Why?
(I assume this isn’t about reading lines in a fictional work. )
I just sort of assume that actors are probably about as truthful as the general population when it comes to their personal lives.
Furthermore, how many professional “actors” does the average survey-respondent know or personally know of? Probably none. (I’ve known a couple of people who act in community theater but that’s about it.)
It makes me wonder about this survey.
John, Did you crop out “bloggers” right below actors? He He He
#17 who the hell is Ron Silver?
Comment by joshua — 8/14/2006 @ 8:24 pm
He’s a very well known actor.
#21 –
You know how that goes… You are at a party and your buddy is going on about some BS he thinks is true about how banks process checks… Then a guy walks up and he says hes a banker and he sets your buddy straight, and your buddy is all sheepish.
If instead of a guy talking to his face, it was a report about banking on CNN, your buddy would stick to his guns.
Same thing. Scientists are reported to claim X, where X flies againsts whatever dogma the listener has, and these guys are liars. Stand in a room with a scientist and he repeats claim X, suddenly credibility exists despite there being no logical reason for credibility to suddenly exist. Suddenly there is a dogmatic paradigm shift.
People are dumb as bricks. To be fair, so are you and so am I, so no real point in pointing fingers. We’re all pretty dumb at the end of the day. Even smart ones like us 🙂