Opinion: Rightward Ho!

It was during Barry Goldwater's heyday in 1964 that Pollster Mervin Field asked California voters to see themselves as the politicians saw them. The result was a fairly even division. Of those polled, 32% regarded themselves as conservatives, 30% as middle-of-the-roaders and 28% as liberals. When Field recently asked Californians to take another look at themselves, the results reflected a swing to the right. Of the 1,006 questioned in the poll released last week, 42% now see themselves as conservatives and 27% as moderates, while only 24% still feel comfortable with the liberal label.

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