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Walter Cronkite: U.S. Too Ignorant to Vote
newsmax.com ^ | Monday, Oct. 3, 2005 6:56 a.m. EDT

Posted on 10/03/2005 5:06:51 AM PDT by InvisibleChurch

Monday, Oct. 3, 2005 6:56 a.m. EDT Walter Cronkite: U.S. Too Ignorant to Vote

The man once known as the most trusted journalist in America no longer trusts Americans to vote for their own leaders, saying average citizens are just too ignorant to cast their ballots wisely.

"We [as a nation] are not educated well enough to perform the necessary act of intelligently selecting our leaders," CBS News legend Walter Cronkite told the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication last week.

In quotes picked up by the Los Angeles Times, Cronkite said journalists need to find a way to better inform the public, suggesting they pressure their employers to replace the current roundups of celebrity profiles and personal health and finance pieces with "the news of the day."

"If we fail at that," Cronkite warned, "our democracy, our republic, I think, is in serious danger."

The CBS legend also said that he fears that the blogosphere could threaten the standing of the mainstream media, adding that news consumers are already confused by cable TV's "opinion journalism."


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: commie; cronkite; decrepitude; liberaloldcranks; senility
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To: Americanexpat

Know what you mean. I talked to my daughter, who lives in Ohio, recently and the stuff she was saying about Bush and the war in Iraq sounds like it came off the Democrat cue cards, word for word. I asked her if she ever researched the events leading up to the Iraq war and she said just what she listened to on the news. She is not alone, there are millions like her.

****

Listen to celebs -- Phil Donahoe -- heard a portion of his sparring with Bill O'Reilly recently -- word for word, everything Donahoe said was from the liberal/socialist playbook.

This morning, I heard something about Donald Sutherland -- the actor -- apparently, at some news conference, he was literally in tears, something about George Bush is destroying our lives, or words to that effect. Sounded like an Academy Award winning performance. A pile of dog dooey, but this is what we get to see and hear when we tune into mainstream media. And I'm amazed at how much stock ordinary people put into these spectacles.


81 posted on 10/03/2005 6:26:38 AM PDT by fatnotlazy
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To: peteram

A meager understanding of voter demographics proves that republican voters are, by far, the more educated. Many voters in the rat party can barely speak English, and a large number are illiterate with many having never graduated from high school. If it weren't for the rat party being able to manipulate and divide the ignorant segment of the population, there would be far fewer rat party members Walter--I guess he is ignorant in his own right.


82 posted on 10/03/2005 6:27:17 AM PDT by Neoliberalnot (Conservatism: doing what is right instead of what is easy)
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To: InvisibleChurch
Who would Uncle Walter let vote? If education is the criteria whole blocks of Democrat voters would be disenfranchised, e.g., inner city Blacks.
83 posted on 10/03/2005 6:27:27 AM PDT by The Great RJ (q)
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To: CDHart
But Cronkite is saying they don't parrot the MSM enough.

The lying old fellow traveller lied about Tet and Vietnam generally.

84 posted on 10/03/2005 6:31:11 AM PDT by pierrem15
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To: Maceman

I think Walt is suggesting we return to domination by either the British Empire or his new and improved UN Empire with that genius Coffee Anus at the helm--which is it?


85 posted on 10/03/2005 6:32:04 AM PDT by Neoliberalnot (Conservatism: doing what is right instead of what is easy)
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To: InvisibleChurch

There's no fool like an old fool.


86 posted on 10/03/2005 6:33:41 AM PDT by 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten (Is your problem ignorance or apathy? I don't know and I don't care.)
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To: KC_Conspirator
Interesting. I didn't read the whole thing, but I'll take your word for it. That makes more sense coming from Cronkite.

Carolyn

87 posted on 10/03/2005 6:34:02 AM PDT by CDHart (The world has become a lunatic asylum and the lunatics are in charge.)
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To: jammer

I suggest any citizen that is receiving UNEARNED government handouts should not be able to vote--it is a direct conflict of interest.


88 posted on 10/03/2005 6:35:59 AM PDT by Neoliberalnot (Conservatism: doing what is right instead of what is easy)
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To: InvisibleChurch
I think Mr. Cronkite doesn't realize one of the main dictums of Alvin Toffler's book The Third Wave, where as communication technologies improve the stranglehold of information dissemination by the mainstream media will come to an end. Since 1979 (when The Third Wave was published), the rise of alternate means of communication--especially the public Internet since circa 1995--has seriously eroded confidence in the MSM.

Of course, it doesn't help the MSM when you have Howell Raines foistering the plagurizing Jayson Blair at the New York Times, Dan Rather doing that totally wrong story about President Bush's Air National Guard service, and Eason Jordan making ridiculous accusations about US soldiers targeting journalists in Iraq.

89 posted on 10/03/2005 6:36:07 AM PDT by RayChuang88
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To: InvisibleChurch

Much of the stupidity of the average American can be laid at the feet of smucks like Walter and the Treason Media. Feeding him a diet of lies is not going to produce much brilliance.


90 posted on 10/03/2005 6:38:04 AM PDT by justshutupandtakeit (Public Enemy #1, the RATmedia.)
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To: CDHart
"I hate to be in a position of agreement with Cronkite, but he's right in this instance. Where I work we have 70 employees. Only three, including myself, have a clue what's going on politically. The rest don't know and don't care. They just parrot what the MSM tells them. Sad. Carolyn"

That's why the MSM is so much against blogs like this one. They want to go back to the days where EVERYONE in the country knew only the left leaning Democratic loving MSM wanted them to know!

It would be conservative suicide if we let them put any constraints on the internet as Hillary wanted to do about 7 years ago. http://www.drudgereport.com/flash4.htm

91 posted on 10/03/2005 6:39:11 AM PDT by clifcrds (There Are None So Blind Than Those Who Will Not See)
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To: mrmargaritaville

You forgot E. "is so vague as to be meaningless."


92 posted on 10/03/2005 6:40:47 AM PDT by justshutupandtakeit (Public Enemy #1, the RATmedia.)
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To: InvisibleChurch

communist.


93 posted on 10/03/2005 6:43:01 AM PDT by longfellow (Bill Maher, the 21st hijacker.)
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To: InvisibleChurch
I hate to say this, but I agree with Walter Cronkite. A test conducted at registration time would ensure that the person voting would have, at least, a basic knowledge of the political process. This was tried in the south 40 - 50 years ago and I am sure Mr. Cronkite was vehemently opposed to it then. Think about how many votes the Democrats would to lose if some display of intelligence was required in order to vote.
94 posted on 10/03/2005 6:46:18 AM PDT by doubleaught (Once a king always a king but once a knight is enough!)
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To: CDHart

He's right but not for the reasons he thinks he is. I'm certain he is saying this because Bush won the election. However, there is no doubt there is a serious lack of basic civics knowledge among the public in this country.


95 posted on 10/03/2005 6:46:19 AM PDT by Republican Wildcat
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To: InvisibleChurch

I realized about 38 years ago that Comrade Cronkite had a strong dislike for the USA – and now he even brags about his dislike for democracy!


96 posted on 10/03/2005 6:51:16 AM PDT by R. Scott (Humanity i love you because when you're hard up you pawn your Intelligence to buy a drink.)
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To: CDHart
They just parrot what the MSM tells them. Sad.

And some actually believe political campaign ads.
97 posted on 10/03/2005 6:52:11 AM PDT by R. Scott (Humanity i love you because when you're hard up you pawn your Intelligence to buy a drink.)
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To: InvisibleChurch

The average American has more cognitive sense than One World Socialist/UN government advocate Walter Cronkite. ANy rational person can figure out that a one-world government is a BIG Dead-End Doom.

BTW, Americans were not so "ignorant" as to elect John Kerry, a pro-Maoist traitor who would reduce America to a enslaved satellite of the United Nations. Kerry would defer American's voice and mind to subjugation by "global consensus."

One world government ideologues like Cronkite demonstrate to us their elitist hubris and dehumanization by insulting, nay, OFFENDING the American majority middle class. Americans will not worship the Big Brother State at the U.N.'s altar ... as Cronkite would have it. Also, he and Hillary Clinton are ideological comrades making for us rational cause for the desdainful dismissal of Chronkite's opinions. What Cronhite "thinks" about Americans is viewed through the narrow lens of his inverted worldview. As a proponent of the inevitable doom of a nefarious one-world socialist government, Cronkite proclaims his own ignorance and intellectual dishonesty. Americans are no longer ignorant about Cronkite's true political affinity and it is not AMERICAN. The facade of his credibility has gone to leftover toxic waste.


98 posted on 10/03/2005 6:52:45 AM PDT by purpleland (Vigilance and Valour!)
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To: InvisibleChurch
"We [as a nation] are not educated well enough to perform the necessary act of intelligently selecting our leaders," CBS News legend Walter Cronkite told the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication last week.

Well, given the fact that nearly half of the Americans who voted cast their ballot for a fraudulent purple heart recipient who gave false testimony before the senate that propagandized on behalf of an enemy at a time of war, I'd have to agree with this idiot in this one instance.

99 posted on 10/03/2005 6:53:09 AM PDT by VRWCmember
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To: mrmargaritaville

Great test idea. The only thing that I would add is proof that you paid taxes.


100 posted on 10/03/2005 6:56:49 AM PDT by 2001convSVT
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