Ha! "Moral values" % influenced by HOW the question was asked

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=703&e=1&u=/ap/20041112/ap_on_el_pr/voters_moral_values


Whether voters named "moral values" their key issue partly depended on whether that subject was included in a list of choices provided by pollsters, according to a Pew Research Center analysis released Thursday.


When "moral values" was included in poll questions, it was named more often than any other issue. But when voters were just asked to name the issue most important in their vote for president — without being given a list of answers — moral values trailed the war in Iraq (news - web sites) and the economy, according to the Pew survey.

Twenty-two percent chose "moral values," followed by the economy (20 percent), terrorism (19 percent) and Iraq (15 percent), according to the polls, which surveyed more than 13,600 voters and were conducted for The Associated Press and the major television networks.


The Pew Research Center polled 1,209 voters who said they cast ballots in the 2004 presidential election. When those voters were given a list, "moral values" was the most popular choice at 27 percent, followed by Iraq at 22 percent and the economy at 21 percent.


But when they were asked an open-ended question about the top issue, Iraq and the economy moved past moral values. Iraq was picked by 27 percent, the economy by 14 percent and moral values tied with terrorism at 9 percent.

I heard it yesterday. I would have answered moral values to the generic question because I feel the war, hell everything this administration has done, is immoral. If asked specifically I would answer differently as most Americans apparently did. This just proves how incurious or unwilling our media is to give us the whole picture or they would have never made such a huge deal out of this before the specifics were known.

and "Moral values" is a nice higher ground answer and feeds your own sense of purity.

can just look at your answer below. Bush does not equal anything vaguely resembling morals. Not purity for me but the basic rules of living with other people.

MORAL VALUES mean?

Wanna discuss morals, fine, values, fine, but moral values? I mean WTF? Can I at least get a glass of wet water while we discuss "moral values"?

I would also like to talk about moral folkways, and value mores, oh and moral value social niceties?

Blibbidy blabbidy bing hodda boommdoodle, twang! Snickel flaggle deemhardee glizzzzzzzzzzz, umptafoofoo heequee snim!

That's my dissertation on "moral values". Any one care to rebut?

1,100 Americans Dead over a LIE
Thousands maimed and tens of thousands of IRaqis DEAD over a LIE

I could go on but to answer your question-I think this is self defined by each person to make themselves feel that they are moral. Morals are subjective.

See my post above about how when given the option many people probably took the "high ground" and said that they were voting based on something as NOBLE as their morals.

I understand your feel-good theory regarding answering morals. But what I don't understand is the phrase "moralvalues". Did the polls ACTUALLY use that exact phrase? Why not just Morals or just Values?

Is there a large segment of the population that espouses immoral values? What are they? I can see where fundies would object to gay marriage as immoral, but isn't it just as valid to refer to a committed monogamous couple's relationship as moral? To what value would this "morality" apply?

It's just...nutty.

:shrug:

I think you switched something around there.