Do you ever watch Jay Leno when he asks people on the street questions about history and they answer with responses like "the first person landed on the moon in 1860." At first, you think these are scripted moments.

They aren't.

Call it elitist, but "Just How Stupid are We?" proves the point.

First of all, watch a video about the book here.

Shenkman provides a great service in how a nation that is misinformed and accepts the misinformation as fact (in large part due to corporate television) ends up pursuing failed policies. Also, we have become a nation whose main economic product is entertainment. In such a culture, the division between drama and truth is often very wide.

One of the great aspects of Shenkman's book is his humor. He would require Americans to become better informed about current events and public policy. The enabling legislation, he suggests, would be called, the "Too Many Stupid Voters Act."

All in all, this book goes a long way toward explaining something profoundly short-term, not likely to happen, and counter-productive measures-- such as the so-called "summer gas tax vacation" -- could become a major campaign issue.