If You Can Read This, You Must Be a Liberal

At least that's the upshot of the latest AP-Ipsos poll, which finds that, as a whole, Americans don't read much, and that conservatives read even less than liberals do:

The AP-Ipsos poll found 22 percent of liberals and moderates said they had not read a book within the past year, compared with 34 percent of conservatives.

Among those who had read at least one book, liberals typically read nine books in the year, with half reading more than that and half less. Conservatives typically read eight, moderates five.

By slightly wider margins, Democrats tended to read more books than Republicans and independents. There were no differences by political party in the percentage of those who said they had not read at least one book.

This study reminds me of another, from back in June, which found that liberals also watch a lot more TV than conservatives do:

For instance, heavy TV viewers proved far more likely to agree with the statement “the government needs to get bigger” than were light viewers (26% to 12%). They were also more likely to endorse the idea that “government should be responsible for providing retirement benefits for everyone” (64% to 43%), much more likely to declare themselves “pro choice” on abortion (57% to 43%), more likely to back “a government run health system” (63% to 43%), and much less likely to attend church “at least weekly” (28% to 47%).

The way, I see it, we can draw one of two conclusions from these studies:

1. Liberals are more intellectually curious than conservatives, and like to seek out lots of information in various forms.

or:

2. Liberals have lots of free time on their hands.