PAST IS PROLOGLE

ET CETERA

AMERICANS FEAR THAT JUSTIN BIEBER MAY ONE DAY FOLLOW IN THE STEPS OF HIS CHILD-STAR PREDECESSORS... INTO REHAB. AND THEY'LL HOLD THEIR TONGUES BEFORE THEY REFER TO ANY "TRUE" DEMOCRACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

THE60 MINUTES/VANITY FAIRPOLL

Do we Americans learn from experience, from our mistakes? Our most recent poll ranges unwittingly into that fraught area. Turns out we’re split pretty evenly on whether prenuptial agreements are: (a) wise or (b) just an assumption that a marriage is doomed. But there’s one category of Americans who overwhelmingly, to the tune of 60 percent, feel pre-nups are a smart way to protect one’s assets. And what group is that? “Divorced/ separated.” (Well, as George W. Bush once said, “Fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can’t get fooled again.”)

Experience also comes into play when we’re asked to define “the American Dream.” Our hard-won wisdom sees that dream as “giving our kids a better life,” and nothing—not a successful career, not even IS “becoming famous”—comes close. Speaking of kids: asked to imagine Justin Bieber at age 30, many more of us imagined him “in celebrity AMERICANS rehab” than anywhere, or as anything, else— MAY ONE a reflection, we would venture, not on young HIS Bieber but on our own (yes) experience watching other celebratedtoo-young lives unravel. (Perhaps Bieber will also learn something from his predecessors’ experience and sidestep those problems entirely.) And however we feel about the uprisings in the Middle East now, we view them with pessimism: we don’t foresee true democracies in those countries a decade hence, and, once again, we suspect it must have something to do with our experience as lifelong, even if casual, Mideast observers. Finally, 42 percent of us Americans continue to diet, while 56 percent claim we never do. We have a sneaking feeling that few in either category are being completely honest. Or so experience tells us.

Which of the following comes closest to how you would describe "the American Dream" today?

Giving your kids a a better better life.52% life

Having a successful business/career.20

Becoming wealthy overnight. 8

Owning a home. 7

Doing better than your parents. 7

Becoming famous. 3

ln general, do you think couples who sign pre-nuptial agreements are smart to protect themselves and their assets, or pretty much assuming things won't work out?

ALL

MEN

WOMEN

DIVORCED SEPARATED

Smart to protect their assets 48%..51%..44%..60%

Assuming things won't work out 47 44 50 36

How often do you diet throughout the year?

ALL

MEN

WOMEN

Every week.12%... 11 %... 14%

Once a month. 3. 2. 5

Once or twice a year.27.23.31

Never.56.63.49

Do you think people who claim they can predict your future have a special gift, or do you think they are just making stuff up?

ALL

MEN

WOMEN

Have a special gift.21 %... 13%... 28%

Just making stuff up.71.82.61

Hugh Hefner is well into his 80s. Who among the following would do the best job filling his slippers?

ALL

18-29

30-64

65+

Charlie Sheen.25%...21%

Bill Clinton.21.21... 19 31

Tiger Woods.19.32... 16 10

John Mayer. 6. 7... 6

Silvio Berlusconi. 3. A... 3 2

Don't know/ no answer 26 15 27 38

Do you think there will be another American Revolution within the next century?

ALL

REPS

DEMS

INDS

Yes.45% ,.43%...40%....52%

No.47.49.52.41

{ @vf.com SEE THE COMPLETE POLL RESULTS.

This poll was conducted at the CBS News interviewing facility among a random sample of 984 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone February 24♪27, 2011. Some low-percentage answer choices have been omitted.

Texas may soon allow students and faculty to carry concealed firearms on university campuses. Would this make you feel more safe or less safe

ALL

REPS

DEMS

INDS

More safe.25%...38%... 16%....26%

Less safe 70 56 82 69

Popular uprisings have broken out in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, and elsewhere in the Middle East. What are the chances that any of these countries will be a true democracy in 10 years?

ALL

LIBS

MODS

CONS

High 31%...30%....23%

68 65.66.73

How do you envision Justin Bieber at age 30?

In celebrity rehab.30%

Married, living quietly.1 8

Still playing packed stadiums.13

Fat and bald.12

Talk-show host. 8

Not sure.19

In which of the following locations are you most productive?

ALL

MEN

WOMEN

Workplace.48%...56%....40%

Home.37.29.46

Airplane or train. 2. 2. 1

Coffee shop. 2. 2. 2

Shower. 2. 1. 3

Elsewhere. 7. 8. 7