Stupid Is As Stupid Does

On CNN this morning was a story about a poll testing knowledge of American history. I only caught one small part. The question was "Where does the phrase 'government of the people, by the people, for the people' come from?" The answer is The Gettysburg Address (yesterday was the 145th Anniversary of the speech, BTW). The following percentages of those who gave the correct answer won't surprise you:

Respondents: 21%

Elected officials: 23%

Then I heard the anchor say "Double that last number, 56% is how many respondents knew that Paula Abdul is a judge on American Idol." That's not a typo and she repeated it twice. "Double that last number, 56%..."

I weep for the future. Have a nice day.