Public Remains Deeply Skeptical of Politicians, Press

The American people continue to maintain skeptical attitudes toward the press and politicians according to a recent survey:

The annual Gallup Poll asking Americans to rate, on a scale of one to five, the honesty and ethical standards of those in 21 professions again placed nurses at the very top with an 82% favorate score. Journalists, U.S. senators and congressmen trailed badly.

In fact, the senators and congressmen, near the very bottom of the list, should heed this call: They finished behind lawyers and building contractors.

Those in advertising finished below congressmen but managed to beat out car salesmen and telemarketers.

Receiving the highest ethical scores in order were nurses, pharmacists , medical doctors, high school teachers, policemen, and clergy, with journalists trailing badly. [...]

Here are the rankings, with the percentage giving each group a high or very high ranking:

Nurses 82, Druggists/Pharmacists 67, Medical doctors 65, High school teachers 64, Policemen 61, Clergy 54, Funeral directors 44, Bankers 41, Accountants 39, Journalists 28, Real estate agents 20, Building contractors 20, Lawyers 18, Labor union leaders 16, Senators 16, Business executives 16, Stockbrokers 16, Congressmen 14, Advertising practitioners 11, Car salesmen 8, Telemarketers 7