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Social scientists from Berkeley who study Middle America have long debated the relative importance of Middle America’s basic intelligence (“after all an unusual number of them go to church”) in the decision of which political party to support.

Many university political scientists lean toward the view that most intelligent people will vote for Democrats, given their superior understanding of the issues and exposure to professors at Ivy League schools.

In an ingenious study published in June, a Columbia University economist and an University of California at Berkeley professor argued that intelligence plays a powerful role. The two scholars studied a number of obvious political issues such as Health Care Reform and Global Warming.

In a situation in which every issue had an obviously correct answer, individuals from New York City or San Francisco picked the right answer 80% of the time. However, individuals located in non-coastal states picked the right political answer only 40% of the time. In fact, the farther inland you went, the worst the answers became with such states as Oklahoma correct a record low 25% of the time.

Some of the most shocking revelations were:

  • 65% of Middle America believe private companies could provide better health care than the government
  • 70% of Middle America were unsure about global warming
  • 60% of Middle America believe that the world is a better place without Saddam Hussein

The study was commissioned as part of the Stimulus Package passed last year. This was the first study in a string of studies about Middle America. Berkeley plans on releasing a study tentatively titled “Is Middle America Racist or Just Stupid?” this summer.


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