darkdog
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The quiz is 20 questions long. It's up to you whether you post your answers or your results. Scoring is detailed at the end.
Note: Some of the questions involve hypothetical situations. I included them only for the sake of discourse. I do not include them to infer they are likely or even possible.
1. After the Vietnam war, John McCain abandoned his wife, Carol, for his current wife, Cindy (P.O.W. to Power Broker, A Chapter Most Telling - New York Times). While he was in Vietnam, Carol raised their three children and got in a disfiguring car accident (P.O.W. to Power Broker, A Chapter Most Telling - New York Times). What is your opinion on this?
2. Barack Obama has political ties to an unrepentant former domestic terrorist, Bill Ayers, who was a leader of a radical Marxist group in the 60s, the Weather Underground. His group bombed a number of buildings and were responsible for several deaths, including that of a police officer. Obama characterized the relationship as nothing more than a casual acquaintance with a neighbor and condemned the actions of the Weather Underground. However, he launched his political career from Ayer's house and served with him on several boards, including one that Michelle Obama arranged (Obama's Ayers connection never bugged anyone :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Lynn Sweet). What is your opinion on this?
3. After college, instead of finding a high-paying position or continuing immediately to law school, Barack Obama took a low-paying job as a community organizer in a tough neighborhood of Chicago where he worked with poor families to improve public housing, helped them organize to stand up against powerful interests, pushed for summer jobs for students, and pushed for a program to keep students in school (Obama Has Varied Experience, Democratic Candidate's Career Spans From A Community Organizer To The Senate - CBS News). What is your opinion on this?
4. While flying a plane as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam war, John McCain was shot down and captured by the Viet Cong. During his imprisonment, he was beaten and severely tortured. When the Viet Cong offered to let him go, McCain refused because he knew the Viet Cong would use him as propaganda if he had accepted (Prisoner of war). A few months later, he reached his breaking point and signed an anti-American propaganda confession. The Viet Cong continued to beat him for refusing to sign further propaganda statements. (John McCain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) What is your opinion on this?
5. John McCain has a reputation of have an explosive temper. He has yelled at his colleagues using profanity-laced tirades. He even once screamed at a young Republican volunteer (College Conservative Movement: John McCain's top ten temper explosions). What is your opinion on this?
6. For about two decades, Barack Obama attended and donated money to the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, headed by the Reverand Jeremiah Wright, Jr., who recently retired. The church teaches black liberation theology, which was founded by James Cone, has its routes in Marxist philosophy (McClatchy Washington Bureau | 03/20/2008 | Obama's church pushes controversial doctrines), and teaches that “Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy.” (James Cone, quoted in William R Jones, “Divine Racism: The Unacknowledged Threshold Issue for Black Theology”, in African-American Religious Thought: An Anthology, ed Cornel West and Eddie Glaube, Westminster John Knox Press, 2003, pp. 850, 856. ) In addition to promoting the idea that the government created AIDS to wage genocide against people of color (Jeremiah Wright’s Controversial AIDS Charge), Wright made such controversial comments as “We [in the U.S.] believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God. “, “US of KKK of A”, and “No, no, no, not God Bless America. God d*** America!” (Pastor Jeremiah Wright Controversy “Quotes” | Bumpshack.com). Barack Obama is now running for president on a post-racial unifying platform. When the controversy of his church first came to light in the press, he condemned the controversial comments, but refused to denounce the church or Wright himself until Wright publicly stated that Obama’s condemnation of his words were mere political posturing. What is your opinion on this?
7. John McCain was involved in the Keating Five scandal. He was accused of using his political influence as a senator to pressure regulators to back off Charles Keating during the savings and loan crisis in the 80s. Charles Keating was a friend of McCain’s who had raised and donated about $112,000 to McCain’s senate campaigns over the years. McCain was wary of involving himself in the investigation, but eventually attended a meeting arranged by Keating intended to pressure the regulators. The pressure worked and the regulators backed off. In the wake of the crisis, Keating was charged with 42 counts of fraud. The charges against McCain were dropped (The Keating Five). What is your opinion on this?
8. According to the National Journal’s 2007 vote ratings, Barack Obama was the most liberal senator that year surpassing self-avowed social Bernie Sanders (NATIONAL JOURNAL: Obama: Most Liberal Senator in 2007 (01/31/2008)). Obama has largely based his campaign on a unifying platform stating that “we need a leader who can finally move beyond the divisive politics of Washington and bring Democrats, Independents, and Republicans together to get things done.” (Barack Obama | Change We Can Believe In |)
What is your opinion on this?
9. John McCain refers to “President Putin of Germany”. Putin is actually from Russia. (YouTube - McCain: Vladimir Putin is the President of Germany?). What is your opinion on this?
10. Barack Obama, while explaining his loss to Clinton in the Kentucky primary, said that “Sen. Clinton, I think, is much better known — not only because of her time in the White House with her husband — but also coming from a nearby state of Arkansas.” (McClatchy Washington Bureau | 05/16/2008 | Obama blames Fox News, e-mail for likely loss in Kentucky) While Arkansas is fairly close to Kentucky, Illinois actually borders Kentucky. What is your opinion on this?
11. Suppose that tomorrow, the following story was revealed in the media: Michelle Obama is actually Barack’s second wife. Barack was away fighting a war while his first wife was at home raising their three children. During this time, she got in a disfiguring car accident. Shortly after Barack came home, he abandoned her for Michelle. What would be your opinion on this?
12. Suppose that tomorrow, the following story was revealed in the media: John McCain has political ties to an unrepentant former domestic terrorist whose group bombed abortion clinics which led to several deaths, including that of a police office. McCain characterizes the relationship as nothing more than a casual acquaintance with a neighbor and condemns the actions of the abortion clinic bomber. However, it’s revealed that McCain launched his political career from the terrorist’s house and served with him on several boards, including one that Cindy McCain arranged. What would be your opinion on this?
13. Suppose that tomorrow, the following story was revealed in the media: After graduating college, rather than finding a high-paying position or continuing immediately to graduate school, John McCain took a low-paying job as a community organizer in a tough neighborhood of Phoenix where he worked with poor families to improve public housing, helped them organize to stand up against powerful interests, pushed for summer jobs for students, and pushed for a program to keep students in school. What would be your opinion on this?
14. Suppose that tomorrow, the following story was revealed in the media: Barack Obama had fought in a war as a pilot who got shot down and captured by the enemy. During his imprisonment, he was beaten and severely tortured. When the enemy offered to let him go, he refused because he knew the enemy would use him as propaganda if he had accepted. A few months later, he reached his breaking point and signed an anti-American propaganda confession. The enemy continued to beat him for refusing to sign further propaganda statements. What would be your opinion on this?
15. Suppose that tomorrow, the following story was revealed in the media: Barack Obama has an explosive temper and is known to yell at his colleagues using profanity-laced tirades. He once even screaming at a young Democrat volunteer. What would be your opinion on this?
16. Suppose that tomorrow, the following story was revealed in the media: For about two decades, John McCain attended and donated money to a radical church in Phoenix. The church teaches white liberation theology which has its routes in fascist philosophy and teaches that “white theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the black enemy.” His reverend taught that the government created AIDS to wage genocide against white people, the United States is dominated by black supremacists whose goal was to keep down the white man, and God should put his damnation on this country. John McCain is now running for president on a post-racial unifying platform. He responds to the story in the press by condemning the controversial comments, but he refuses to denounce the church or his reverend. After his reverend publicly states that McCain’s condemnation of his words were mere political posturing, then McCain denounces the church and reverend. What would be your opinion on this?
17. Suppose that tomorrow, the following story was revealed in the media: Early in his career, Barack Obama was accused of using his political influence to pressure regulators to back off one of his friends. This friend had raised and donated about $112,000 to Obama’s campaigns over the years. Obama was wary of involving himself in the investigation, but eventually attended a meeting arranged by the friend intended to pressure the regulators. The pressure worked and the regulators backed off. In the wake of the crisis, the friend was charged with 42 counts of fraud. The charges against Obama were dropped. What would be your opinion on this?
18. Suppose that tomorrow, the following story was revealed in the media: According to the National Journal’s 2007 vote ratings, John McCain was the most conservative senator that year. McCain has largely based his campaign on a unifying platform talking about the need to transcend divisive party politics and bring together people of all political persuasions to solve the nation’s problems. What would be your opinion on this?
19. Barack Obama claimed to have visited 57 states (Barack Obama wants to be president of these 57 United States | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times). What is your opinion on this?
20. In an interview, John McCain referred to the “Iraq-Pakistan border” (Think Progress » McCain Warns Of ‘Hard Struggle’ On The ‘Iraq-Pakistan Border’). Iraq does not border Pakistan, but Afghanistan does. What is your opinion on this?
That's the end of the quiz! Scoring is done on a 10 point scale. Compare your answer to question 1 with your answer to question 11. Then compare your answer to question 2 with your answer to question 12. Then compare 3 to 13. Then 4 to 14. And so on. If your comparison reveals consistent answers, award yourself a point. If your comparisons reveal inconsistent answers, you do not get a point. Here's what the scoring means:
8-10 points: You are very intellectually honest. You base your character judgements on principle rather than how much you agree or disagree with the person. Though everybody has some bias and nobody can be perfectly intellectually honest, you try to be fair to people by asking yourself questions such as "would I see it this way if the sides were reversed?"
5-7 points: You are somewhat intellectually honest. You generally try to apply a universal standard to everyone, but perhaps get carried away with confirmation bias at times. You can easily move up to the very intellectually honest category by remembering to stop and scrutinize your views when things get emotional.
1-4 points: Your intellectual honesty needs work. You tend to downplay the flaws in politicians on your own side and the positives in politicians on the other side. As you work on your intellectual honesty, you may see your debates become more civil and constructive, and you may have more influence over people from the opposite political persuasion as they will take you more seriously.
I know this quiz will invite some controversy. I have spent a lot of time trying to make it factually correct and coming up with equivalent situations for the comparison questions. I'd like to improve it, so if you see that I've fallen short in these goals or see any other problems with it, please let me know. If I determine you have a valid point, I will correct it. I consider this a beta version.
Note: Some of the questions involve hypothetical situations. I included them only for the sake of discourse. I do not include them to infer they are likely or even possible.
1. After the Vietnam war, John McCain abandoned his wife, Carol, for his current wife, Cindy (P.O.W. to Power Broker, A Chapter Most Telling - New York Times). While he was in Vietnam, Carol raised their three children and got in a disfiguring car accident (P.O.W. to Power Broker, A Chapter Most Telling - New York Times). What is your opinion on this?
2. Barack Obama has political ties to an unrepentant former domestic terrorist, Bill Ayers, who was a leader of a radical Marxist group in the 60s, the Weather Underground. His group bombed a number of buildings and were responsible for several deaths, including that of a police officer. Obama characterized the relationship as nothing more than a casual acquaintance with a neighbor and condemned the actions of the Weather Underground. However, he launched his political career from Ayer's house and served with him on several boards, including one that Michelle Obama arranged (Obama's Ayers connection never bugged anyone :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Lynn Sweet). What is your opinion on this?
3. After college, instead of finding a high-paying position or continuing immediately to law school, Barack Obama took a low-paying job as a community organizer in a tough neighborhood of Chicago where he worked with poor families to improve public housing, helped them organize to stand up against powerful interests, pushed for summer jobs for students, and pushed for a program to keep students in school (Obama Has Varied Experience, Democratic Candidate's Career Spans From A Community Organizer To The Senate - CBS News). What is your opinion on this?
4. While flying a plane as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam war, John McCain was shot down and captured by the Viet Cong. During his imprisonment, he was beaten and severely tortured. When the Viet Cong offered to let him go, McCain refused because he knew the Viet Cong would use him as propaganda if he had accepted (Prisoner of war). A few months later, he reached his breaking point and signed an anti-American propaganda confession. The Viet Cong continued to beat him for refusing to sign further propaganda statements. (John McCain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) What is your opinion on this?
5. John McCain has a reputation of have an explosive temper. He has yelled at his colleagues using profanity-laced tirades. He even once screamed at a young Republican volunteer (College Conservative Movement: John McCain's top ten temper explosions). What is your opinion on this?
6. For about two decades, Barack Obama attended and donated money to the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, headed by the Reverand Jeremiah Wright, Jr., who recently retired. The church teaches black liberation theology, which was founded by James Cone, has its routes in Marxist philosophy (McClatchy Washington Bureau | 03/20/2008 | Obama's church pushes controversial doctrines), and teaches that “Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy.” (James Cone, quoted in William R Jones, “Divine Racism: The Unacknowledged Threshold Issue for Black Theology”, in African-American Religious Thought: An Anthology, ed Cornel West and Eddie Glaube, Westminster John Knox Press, 2003, pp. 850, 856. ) In addition to promoting the idea that the government created AIDS to wage genocide against people of color (Jeremiah Wright’s Controversial AIDS Charge), Wright made such controversial comments as “We [in the U.S.] believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God. “, “US of KKK of A”, and “No, no, no, not God Bless America. God d*** America!” (Pastor Jeremiah Wright Controversy “Quotes” | Bumpshack.com). Barack Obama is now running for president on a post-racial unifying platform. When the controversy of his church first came to light in the press, he condemned the controversial comments, but refused to denounce the church or Wright himself until Wright publicly stated that Obama’s condemnation of his words were mere political posturing. What is your opinion on this?
7. John McCain was involved in the Keating Five scandal. He was accused of using his political influence as a senator to pressure regulators to back off Charles Keating during the savings and loan crisis in the 80s. Charles Keating was a friend of McCain’s who had raised and donated about $112,000 to McCain’s senate campaigns over the years. McCain was wary of involving himself in the investigation, but eventually attended a meeting arranged by Keating intended to pressure the regulators. The pressure worked and the regulators backed off. In the wake of the crisis, Keating was charged with 42 counts of fraud. The charges against McCain were dropped (The Keating Five). What is your opinion on this?
8. According to the National Journal’s 2007 vote ratings, Barack Obama was the most liberal senator that year surpassing self-avowed social Bernie Sanders (NATIONAL JOURNAL: Obama: Most Liberal Senator in 2007 (01/31/2008)). Obama has largely based his campaign on a unifying platform stating that “we need a leader who can finally move beyond the divisive politics of Washington and bring Democrats, Independents, and Republicans together to get things done.” (Barack Obama | Change We Can Believe In |)
What is your opinion on this?
9. John McCain refers to “President Putin of Germany”. Putin is actually from Russia. (YouTube - McCain: Vladimir Putin is the President of Germany?). What is your opinion on this?
10. Barack Obama, while explaining his loss to Clinton in the Kentucky primary, said that “Sen. Clinton, I think, is much better known — not only because of her time in the White House with her husband — but also coming from a nearby state of Arkansas.” (McClatchy Washington Bureau | 05/16/2008 | Obama blames Fox News, e-mail for likely loss in Kentucky) While Arkansas is fairly close to Kentucky, Illinois actually borders Kentucky. What is your opinion on this?
11. Suppose that tomorrow, the following story was revealed in the media: Michelle Obama is actually Barack’s second wife. Barack was away fighting a war while his first wife was at home raising their three children. During this time, she got in a disfiguring car accident. Shortly after Barack came home, he abandoned her for Michelle. What would be your opinion on this?
12. Suppose that tomorrow, the following story was revealed in the media: John McCain has political ties to an unrepentant former domestic terrorist whose group bombed abortion clinics which led to several deaths, including that of a police office. McCain characterizes the relationship as nothing more than a casual acquaintance with a neighbor and condemns the actions of the abortion clinic bomber. However, it’s revealed that McCain launched his political career from the terrorist’s house and served with him on several boards, including one that Cindy McCain arranged. What would be your opinion on this?
13. Suppose that tomorrow, the following story was revealed in the media: After graduating college, rather than finding a high-paying position or continuing immediately to graduate school, John McCain took a low-paying job as a community organizer in a tough neighborhood of Phoenix where he worked with poor families to improve public housing, helped them organize to stand up against powerful interests, pushed for summer jobs for students, and pushed for a program to keep students in school. What would be your opinion on this?
14. Suppose that tomorrow, the following story was revealed in the media: Barack Obama had fought in a war as a pilot who got shot down and captured by the enemy. During his imprisonment, he was beaten and severely tortured. When the enemy offered to let him go, he refused because he knew the enemy would use him as propaganda if he had accepted. A few months later, he reached his breaking point and signed an anti-American propaganda confession. The enemy continued to beat him for refusing to sign further propaganda statements. What would be your opinion on this?
15. Suppose that tomorrow, the following story was revealed in the media: Barack Obama has an explosive temper and is known to yell at his colleagues using profanity-laced tirades. He once even screaming at a young Democrat volunteer. What would be your opinion on this?
16. Suppose that tomorrow, the following story was revealed in the media: For about two decades, John McCain attended and donated money to a radical church in Phoenix. The church teaches white liberation theology which has its routes in fascist philosophy and teaches that “white theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the black enemy.” His reverend taught that the government created AIDS to wage genocide against white people, the United States is dominated by black supremacists whose goal was to keep down the white man, and God should put his damnation on this country. John McCain is now running for president on a post-racial unifying platform. He responds to the story in the press by condemning the controversial comments, but he refuses to denounce the church or his reverend. After his reverend publicly states that McCain’s condemnation of his words were mere political posturing, then McCain denounces the church and reverend. What would be your opinion on this?
17. Suppose that tomorrow, the following story was revealed in the media: Early in his career, Barack Obama was accused of using his political influence to pressure regulators to back off one of his friends. This friend had raised and donated about $112,000 to Obama’s campaigns over the years. Obama was wary of involving himself in the investigation, but eventually attended a meeting arranged by the friend intended to pressure the regulators. The pressure worked and the regulators backed off. In the wake of the crisis, the friend was charged with 42 counts of fraud. The charges against Obama were dropped. What would be your opinion on this?
18. Suppose that tomorrow, the following story was revealed in the media: According to the National Journal’s 2007 vote ratings, John McCain was the most conservative senator that year. McCain has largely based his campaign on a unifying platform talking about the need to transcend divisive party politics and bring together people of all political persuasions to solve the nation’s problems. What would be your opinion on this?
19. Barack Obama claimed to have visited 57 states (Barack Obama wants to be president of these 57 United States | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times). What is your opinion on this?
20. In an interview, John McCain referred to the “Iraq-Pakistan border” (Think Progress » McCain Warns Of ‘Hard Struggle’ On The ‘Iraq-Pakistan Border’). Iraq does not border Pakistan, but Afghanistan does. What is your opinion on this?
That's the end of the quiz! Scoring is done on a 10 point scale. Compare your answer to question 1 with your answer to question 11. Then compare your answer to question 2 with your answer to question 12. Then compare 3 to 13. Then 4 to 14. And so on. If your comparison reveals consistent answers, award yourself a point. If your comparisons reveal inconsistent answers, you do not get a point. Here's what the scoring means:
8-10 points: You are very intellectually honest. You base your character judgements on principle rather than how much you agree or disagree with the person. Though everybody has some bias and nobody can be perfectly intellectually honest, you try to be fair to people by asking yourself questions such as "would I see it this way if the sides were reversed?"
5-7 points: You are somewhat intellectually honest. You generally try to apply a universal standard to everyone, but perhaps get carried away with confirmation bias at times. You can easily move up to the very intellectually honest category by remembering to stop and scrutinize your views when things get emotional.
1-4 points: Your intellectual honesty needs work. You tend to downplay the flaws in politicians on your own side and the positives in politicians on the other side. As you work on your intellectual honesty, you may see your debates become more civil and constructive, and you may have more influence over people from the opposite political persuasion as they will take you more seriously.
I know this quiz will invite some controversy. I have spent a lot of time trying to make it factually correct and coming up with equivalent situations for the comparison questions. I'd like to improve it, so if you see that I've fallen short in these goals or see any other problems with it, please let me know. If I determine you have a valid point, I will correct it. I consider this a beta version.
Puyo! You're right- it's really about critical thinking rather than McCain vs. Obama. I'm thinking perhaps I made it a little too long. But hey, it's an experiment.