"i don't know whether to feel smug or utterly depressed."

I heard a teaser for the new PEW (Public Knowledge of Current Affairs Little Changed by News and Information Revolutions) report on NPR on my way to the gym tonight. The report gauges the effects of 24-hour cable news and the internet on the American public's knowledge of domestic issues.

It's not exactly a surprise that viewers of "The Colbert Report," "The Daily Show," and "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer" are the best informed people in the country. But I was baffled (and shocked, really) that NPR listeners and Bill O'Reilly's devotees are neck-and-(red)neck in their news knowledge. (Overall, Fox News Channel viewers were much lower.)

A friend sent me this note about it ...

There's an abbreviated version of the quiz at the PEW site, and I'm pleased to report I scored perfectly, landing in the top 96% of informed folks. Tragically, that makes me about 60% better informed than the rest of my demographic (college educated women between 18-35). I don't know whether to feel smug or utterly depressed.

I took the news quiz and also got a perfect score. My score confirmed what I already knew to be true: I am more well informed than the average citizen. How much more well informed is utterly depressing. It's also a sobering reminder to me that I need to improve my conversational français and español — it's high time that I got the hell out of this country.

642 days until I'm done with my MBA and (jehovah, gaia, buddha, shiva, and elvis willing) another party gets the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave ...