About 2 weeks ago James noted the phenomenon of doublethink among Bush supporters.  Doublethink is a tendency to ignore gross contradictions and falsehoods in order to maintain a particular belief.  It's hard to imagine that half the population would willfully delude itself, isn't it?  "They're just misinformed." I tell myself.  Apparently, Science says I'm wrong...

A report on a recently completed scientific study from the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) indicates that Bush supporters are doublethinking to beat the band.  The title of the report is "The Separate Realities of Bush and Kerry Supporters".  I'll link to the study below, but here is a summary of the key findings reduced to a simple table:

Statement Bush-Supporters Believe Kerry-Supporters Believe
Iraq had WMD's before the war or a significant program to develop them. 72% 26%
Most experts say Iraq had WMD's before the war or a program to develop them. 57% 18%
Iraq was directly involved in the 9/11 attacks. 20% 8%
Iraq gave substantial support to al-Qaeda. 55% 22%
Most experts say Iraq was providing substantial support to al-Qaeda. 60% 21%
The 9/11 commission findings indicate Iraq was providing substantial support to al-Qaeda. 56% 27%
The Bush administration says Iraq had WMD's before the war or a significant program to develop them. 82% 84%
Just before the war, the Bush administration said Iraq gave substantial support to al-Qaeda or was directly involved in 9/11. 75% 74%
Bush administration says clear evidence has since been found which shows Iraq gave substantial support to al-Qaeda. 55% 52%
We should not have gone to war if the US intelligence agencies had concluded there were no WMDs or ties to al-Qaeda. 58% 92%
The majority of world governments oppose the US war in Iraq. 31% 74%
The majority of the world would rather see Bush reelected, than to see Kerry elected. 57% 1%

By and in large the results show that the Bush supporters are incorrect in their beliefs.  The Charles Duelfer report and other investigations have concluded there were no WMDs.  The 9/11 commission concluded there were no substantive ties to al-Qaeda.  Surveys of other countries have shown that a large majority of them oppose the Iraq war, and do not want to see Bush reelected.

The only thing the Bushies and the Kerries seem to agree on is that Bush is saying there were WMD's and there were ties to Iraq.  That's where it ends.  Beyond that point, the Kerries appear to believe the EVIDENCE while the Bushies appear to believe BUSH.  Doublethink.

The last part of the study was also very interesting.  It compared Bush-supporters perceptions of Bush positions with Bush's positions, and Kerry-supporters perceptions of Kerry's positions.  This section makes shockingly clear that Bush supporters do not know their candidate, but Kerry supporters know theirs.  Kerry supporters were able to much more accurately articulate Kerry's positions.

I'm not going to say that this means Bush supporters are stupid, but they certainly appear to be misinformed (by a 2:1 margin or more) than Kerry supporters about their own candidate's positions.  What does that say about them?

Y'know, people have complained that the Dems aren't so much voting for Kerry as we are voting against Bush.  That may be true, but the fact that so many dems are able to accurately recall Kerry's positions means that at least we've looked into our candidate.

Sounds to me like the Bush-supporters aren't so much voting for Bush as they are voting against the boogeyman of liberalism.  Wake up and smell the coffee guys.  Before it is too late.

Link to study (a PDF file): The Separate Realities of Bush and Kerry Supporters

I found this study via a link from electoral-vote.com.