Posted on 11/27/2004 4:39:49 AM PST by MikefromOhio
Urban Legends and Folklore IQ and Voter Preference in 2004 Presidential Election
Netlore Archive: In which the results of the 2004 U.S. presidential election are correlated with purported average IQ of voters in each state
Description: Net hoax Circulating since: Nov. 2004 (this version) Status: False Analysis: See below
IQ and Voter Preference State Average IQ 2004 1 Connecticut 113 Kerry 2 Massachusetts 111 Kerry 3 New Jersey 111 Kerry 4 New York 109 Kerry 5 Rhode Island 107 Kerry 6 Hawaii 106 Kerry 7 Maryland 105 Kerry 8 New Hampshire 105 Kerry 9 Illinois 104 Kerry 10 Delaware 103 Kerry 11 Minnesota 102 Kerry 12 Vermont 102 Kerry 13 Washington 102 Kerry 14 California 101 Kerry 15 Pennsylvania 101 Kerry 16 Maine 100 Kerry 17 Virginia 100 Bush 18 Wisconsin 100 Kerry 19 Colorado 99 Bush 20 Iowa 99 Bush 21 Michigan 99 Kerry 22 Nevada 99 Bush 23 Ohio 99 Bush 24 Oregon 99 Kerry 25 Alaska 98 Bush 26 Florida 98 Bush 27 Missouri 98 Bush 28 Kansas 96 Bush 29 Nebraska 95 Bush 30 Arizona 94 Bush 31 Indiana 94 Bush 32 Tennessee 94 Bush 33 North Carolina 93 Bush 34 West Virginia 93 Bush 35 Arkansas 92 Bush 36 Georgia 92 Bush 37 Kentucky 92 Bush 38 New Mexico 92 Bush 39 North Dakota 92 Bush 40 Texas 92 Bush 41 Alabama 90 Bush 42 Louisiana 90 Bush 43 Montana 90 Bush 44 Oklahoma 90 Bush 45 South Dakota 90 Bush 46 South Carolina 89 Bush 47 Wyoming 89 Bush 48 Idaho 87 Bush 49 Utah 87 Bush 50 Mississippi 85 Bush
Comments: The data charted above, which began circulating on the Internet shortly after the U.S. presidential election of 2004, would appear to confirm an elitist supposition held by some on the left namely that Bush supporters are dumber than Kerry supporters.
There's just one problem: the numbers in the "Average IQ" column were fabricated. No such data exists.
As it happens, the same figures were bandied about earlier this year in reference to 2000's Bush/Gore election, and discredited in short order. Then, as now, it was claimed that the numbers purporting to represent average IQ by state came from a book entitled "IQ and the Wealth of Nations." However, one of its authors, Richard Lynn, stated that the book contains no such data.
It also bears pointing out that three states switched their electoral preference from one party to the other between 2000 and 2004, with no corresponding change in the alleged IQ of the populace.
Lastly, the hoax is reminiscent of a widely circulated email dating from 2001 which claimed, on the basis of phony documentation, that G.W. Bush has the lowest IQ of any modern president.
I would think the red counties vs. the blue counties would show idiots living in the blue counties.
I would be surprised if the average IQ of any state was much more or less than 100.
Having lived in the NE and the South, there is a big difference in behavior. And, what "Northerners" see as "normal", Southerners would consider rude and snobby. Part of it is what you are used to. I think generally Southerners are much more outgoing and congenial to strangers, and will readily treat folks "like family". Something simple like smiling and waving, with a verbal greeting ('morning, good afternoon, etc), is a given, whereas you are not going to see that much in the NE, where "minding one's own business" extends beyond the home. There was a big enough difference for me to remark to myself, after a few months in SC, that the phrase "Southern hospitality", was quite true.
The greatest amount of spending-per capita-in terms of education is done in Washington D.C., which also happens to have some of the worst-performing schools in the nation.
The intellectual "disparity" between the "red" and "blue" states-which is another fictitious creation that needs to be debunked-isn't even worth commenting upon.
The final Baltimore Sun polls had Kerry up 17 points in MD....but (in fine print near the bottom of the article).. if you only counted white voters, Bush wins by 5 points
Though, I must defer-in this one instance-to the expert in matters of measuring intelligence quotient, Cacique.
It cannot be said enough. Nationwide, as people's education level increases, they are more likely to vote Republican, through the master's degree level. People with Ph.D's make a sharp turn to the left, however. I suspect that Ph.D's are statists who want to preserve the status quo which favors paper crendentials over experience and results. (Teachers should make less than truck drivers.)
Well, just damn! My Q is about 122 and I voted for Bush. And I was bred and born in Texas and have been a Virginian for about 20 years.... go figure.
Good point, PhD's are generally professional students, graduate degree types are generally out working.
Masachusetts gave us a Murderer and drunk (Kennedy), a war criminal and liar (Kerry) and a Queer(Barney Frank) and they are smarter?? I would rather be stupid.
What Mass. Genius figured the cost of the Big Dig?
My state Maryland came out good on the chart, has anyone ever visited the Counties where Kerry won?/ Believe me they are filed with affirmative action employees that got work thru lowered standards.
Even my kids think the man in the streets interviews are a hoot. They can't believe people can be so ill-informed.
I think it's more about values than I.Q. Those of us who have taken the time and effort to understand history and understand today's politics know that socialism is tyranny. We don't want to go there. Most blue people wouldn't either if they took sometime out their self-centered lives and really examined what is going on.
You are getting so short you'll have to step up on a ladder to look down on a dime!
What what was Kerry's IQ reported as?
Kerry did not release his IQ or SAT scores but Bush's SAT's show he is well above average (MBA from Harvard, fighter pilot, etc.), probably why Kerry has not releaed either scores.
And believe me, I have already bought the ladder!!! :)
Thanks for the tip on posting tables.
Campaign expenditures, hundreds of millions; Kerry's shock, priceless.
All I know is that Kerry's undergrad grades were too low to get him into law school. I had also heard his SAT scores were lower than Bush's, but I don't remember the numbers.
Also, re driving in south vs. north. There is a difference between Boston and the regions around Boston. I used to drive into Boston on a regular basis from a neighboring state, and I would find the drivers becoming crazier and crazier the closer one got to route 128 and Boston in general.
Then I taught in South Carolina for a while. Things are definitely slower and more mellow in the south. And if there you wanted to make a left turn, with a long line of traffic approaching you and no lights or break in sight, the southerners would actually stop and let you go. That is unheard of in the north. People from Massachusetts just pull out into the middle of the road so that the oncoming traffic has to stop.
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