http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15212268/site/newsweek/
Avast! Ye Scurvy Gentlemen
In new poll on ethics, the public ranks Congress lower than pirates.
Oct. 10, 2006 - In a troubling sign for the upcoming midterm elections, a new poll released today indicates that the public for the first time ranks congressmen lower than pirates in terms of ethical behavior.
The survey, which was conducted by the University of Minnesota's Opinion Research Institute and asked likely voters to rate 100 professions according to their ethics, showed congressmen near the bottom of the list, only ranking higher than crack dealers and lawyers.
Worse was the fact that pirates, who have not fared well in earlier incarnations of the ethics poll, were considered twice as trustworthy as members of Congress, a finding that sends an alarming message to lawmakers seeing reelection this November.
"Pirates received consistently higher marks than congressmen in this survey," said Crandall Pritchard, who supervised the poll for the University of Minnesota. "We heard comments like, 'Sure, pirates make people walk the plank and will slit their throats for a doubloon, but at least they would keep their hands off congressional pages.'"
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, under fire of late because of the congressional page scandal, said that the poll showing that pirates are more ethical than congressmen is much ado about nothing: "I don't think this reflects the unpopularity of Congress so much as it reflects the surging popularity of pirates."
But House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had a more sober assessment: "Arggh!"
Avast! Ye Scurvy Gentlemen
In new poll on ethics, the public ranks Congress lower than pirates.
Oct. 10, 2006 - In a troubling sign for the upcoming midterm elections, a new poll released today indicates that the public for the first time ranks congressmen lower than pirates in terms of ethical behavior.
The survey, which was conducted by the University of Minnesota's Opinion Research Institute and asked likely voters to rate 100 professions according to their ethics, showed congressmen near the bottom of the list, only ranking higher than crack dealers and lawyers.
Worse was the fact that pirates, who have not fared well in earlier incarnations of the ethics poll, were considered twice as trustworthy as members of Congress, a finding that sends an alarming message to lawmakers seeing reelection this November.
"Pirates received consistently higher marks than congressmen in this survey," said Crandall Pritchard, who supervised the poll for the University of Minnesota. "We heard comments like, 'Sure, pirates make people walk the plank and will slit their throats for a doubloon, but at least they would keep their hands off congressional pages.'"
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, under fire of late because of the congressional page scandal, said that the poll showing that pirates are more ethical than congressmen is much ado about nothing: "I don't think this reflects the unpopularity of Congress so much as it reflects the surging popularity of pirates."
But House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had a more sober assessment: "Arggh!"