I found it quite interesting that the subject of a recent surge of comments was also the lead item in a recent Pew Research release. It showed that Rush Limbaugh draws conservative listeners. Well, tell me something I didn’t know – I’m a dittohead and conservative, so the profile is right in line insofar as I’m concerned.
What’s quite telling about this poll is the fact it was actually done some time ago but came to light again recently because of Rush’s well-publicized hope that Barack Obama fails to enact his socialist agenda.
If you notice in reading the polling data further, the two items that Limbaugh’s radio show are compared to in audience are both prime time Fox News Channel programs – The O’Reilly Factor and Hannity. Obviously one could conclude that Limbaugh has less reach; on the other hand much of Limbaugh’s audience is working during his time slot and may not have the opportunity to hear the show in whole or in part. This is true in my case since my work takes me away from a radio for several hours a day unless I happen to be traveling.
What I also found intriguing were the number of people who get their news from the mainstream media and how little knowledge they have of the three basic questions that Pew used to determine political knowledge. (I wish they would have asked about the Constitution, though.) It certainly shows why Jay Leno can get away with his humorous man on the street interviews because many people are fairly ignorant of the world around them and believe just what the likes of network talking heads tell them.
I figured since Rush was a recent topic of discussion on this site it would be an interesting piece of conversation fodder despite the poll’s age.
