Information or Cynicism?

Some believe the widely held perception that there are important differences between the two major parties is a product more of cynicism than of information, but the 2004 ANES suggests otherwise. The relationship between perceptions of important differences between the two major parties and a four-item “trust in government” scale was virtually nil. On the other hand, the relationship between perceptions of differences between the parties and a four-item measure of political information—in which all questions about the political parties were not included—was direct, albeit modest. Fifty-four percent of know-nothings on the four-item scale said there were important differences between the major parties, compared with 93 percent of persons who got every item correct.