QED

Media Matters - On his CNN debut, Beck misrepresented study, mocked guest, made suggestive remarks to CNN anchor:

"Summary: On the May 8 premiere of his CNN Headline News show, Glenn Beck devoted a segment to misrepresenting and attacking a University of California-Berkeley study for finding that children with more positive personality traits tend to develop more liberal political leanings, while children with negative personality traits more often develop conservative views. Beck also mocked one guest, author Eric Schlosser, and subjected another -- CNN Headline News anchor Erica Hill -- to a number of sexually suggestive comments."

The funny thing here is that Beck doesn't even understand how tragicomic he really is.

Following his claim that the show would not "get bogged down in liberal versus conservative," Beck proceeded to criticize a study by University of California-Berkeley professor Jack Block. The 2005 study, published in the Journal of Research In Personality, identified prominent personality traits in a group of children and then identified their political affiliations decades later, when they had reached adulthood, to determine if there was any correlation. The study concluded that certain personality traits, such as being "indecisive," "fearful," "rigid" and "inhibited," were common among children who grew up to be conservative, while other traits, including "self-reliant," "energetic" and "resilient," were common among those who grew up to be liberal. In criticizing the study, however, Beck falsely claimed that the study had identified children as liberal or conservative while also examining their personality traits, and that it had characterized the conservative children as "easily victimized" while characterizing the liberals as "vital, perceptive, fluent, and bright." In fact, the study did not even attempt to identify any of its subjects' political leanings until they were adults. Beck concluded of the study: "So, to sum it up, according to the even-handed folks at Berkeley: [Former President] Ronald Reagan, frightened, unhappy little wuss; while [liberal filmmaker] Michael Moore, son of Mother Theresa and Jesus." He then further misconstrued the study's conclusions, stating, "I really shouldn't be happy, because I'm a conservative."

"Thou hast said it."

And it's, you call yourself conservative because you are miserable - and think everyone else should be.

I have a dream. I have a dream that someday, I will LOOK across a sea of happy fiscal conservatives and no longer will it be EASY to confuse the words "conservative" and "asshole" in the minds of the just. Oh, I HAVE a DREAM!