Mirror Image

Investors Business Daily has a new poll out of public opinion. They issue one regularly, but this latest one had a new question designed to measure the differences in outlook based on the primary source from which people get their news. It is perhaps not too surprising to find that talk radio listeners are the most positive about how things are going, and newspaper/newsmagazine readers the most negative.

What struck me most however was the impact of party affiliation on outlook. Using 50 as a baseline (above is optimistic and below is pessimistic) and rounding to whole numbers, you get this: Republicans 64 Democrats 36. That's a perfect mirror image. The Republicans are exactly as positive as the Democrats are negative. It's no wonder people see a divide in this country. Apparently political philosophy is dictating both the source and the perception of the news people take in.

Maybe John Edwards was right after all (I can't believe I just typed those words!) and there really are Two Americas.