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 The public has consistently expressed strong interest in the health care debate, but relatively few Americans can correctly answer two key questions related to the Senate’s consideration of health care legislation. And, in what proved to be the most difficult question on the quiz, only about a quarter (26%) knows that it takes 60 votes to break a filibuster in the Senate and force a vote on a bill. (The survey was conducted before Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown won a special election to the Senate on Jan. 19; Brown's election means Senate Democrats can no longer count on a 60-vote majority once he takes office.) Republicans trounced Democrats on a question about the percent of U.S. imports of oil that we consume. As was the case in previous knowledge surveys, a majority (55%) knows the current unemployment rate is about 10%. However, far fewer, just 36 percent, correctly estimated the current level of the Dow Jones Industrial Average at about 10,000 points. The news quiz, conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press Jan. 14-17 among 1,003 adults reached on cell phones and landlines, asked 12 multiple choice questions on subjects ranging from economics and foreign affairs to prominent people in the news. Interestingly, nearly half of Republicans (48%) are able to identify Reid as Senate majority leader compared with just a third (33%) of Democrats. The one question Republicans and Democrats were tied on: Thirty-nine percent of participants from both parties knew Stephen Colbert is a comedian and TV host. These differences are partly a reflection of the demographics of the two groups; Republicans tend to be older, well educated and male, which are characteristics associated with political and economic knowledge. Other political-party gaps 
 
 One of the largest gaps between political parties showed up in a question of who leads the U.S. Senate. About half of Republicans could identify Nevada Senator Harry Reid as the current majority leader, while only a third of Democrats could do the same, even though Reid is their own party's Senate leader. Nearly 60 percent of Democrats knew that more than one woman serves on the U.S. Supreme Court, compared with 50 percent of Republicans. While the Democratic Party is made up of more women than men, gender didn't seem to account for the party gap, Pew researchers say. About half (49%) of those younger than 30 correctly identify the comedian and talk show host compared with 38% of those older than 50. For each question answered correctly respondents receive one point on a scale ranging from zero (none correct) to 12 (all correct). In the current News IQ Quiz, just 2% of the public answered all questions correctly (12 out of 12), while 6% failed to answer a single question right. In fact, out of the 12 multiple-choice questions asked in a Pew Research Center phone survey of more than 1,000 adults, Republicans answered an average of about 6 questions correctly compared with 5 for Democrats. Those with college degrees correctly answered about seven questions correctly on average. When it comes to the goings-on in the news, some folks are more knowledgeable than others, with Republicans and older Americans scoring better on a current-events quiz. Respondents 50 and older could correctly answer an average of about two more questions than those under age 30 (5.9 vs. 3.8).
– Republicans are a bit more up on current events than Democrats, says a new Pew survey. Americans overall scored 5 out of 12 on the questionnaire; on average, Republicans had a score of 6, ahead of Democrats' 5. A measly 2% of respondents got all 12 questions right; 6% got them all wrong. See the questions here. Republicans excelled—relatively speaking—in some areas that should embarrass Democrats, LiveScience notes, such as knowing who the Senate majority leader is. About half of GOP respondents correctly named Harry Reid, compared to just a third of Democrats. The parties tied (39%) when asked to identify Stephen Colbert. Overall, only 32% knew the Senate passed its health care legislation without a single GOP vote.