AKIron: If by sophisticated you mean clueless then I must agree.
Not really - I ment more educated, more knowlegeable, more intelligent, more carefully done.
They are clueless about higher-level issues like why free market is superior to government intervention and why socialism does not work, but so are the right-wingers.
Basically, when NPR or PBS cites some fact, you do not have to verify it. You may disagree radically with it's interpretation as I do but they are not lying or ignorant or sloppy checking the facts. You can use them for actual education on many factual issues, once you have the right philosophical worldview straight. Of course they are more dangerous to the young minds without set worldviews - exactly for the reason of being more professionally done.
Right-wingers on the other hand are likely to say outright falcities based on presumpion or ignorance.
Just one example. Curtis Sliwa said recently in discussion whether Saddam Hussein was a fundamental muslim of a secular socialist (and thus a likely enemy of Al-Qaede) "Hussein was different from Stalin and Hitler - neither Stalin or Hitler turned to religion when going got tough for them..."
Not only did the ignorant dolt never heard of well-documented historical facts that Hitler and especially Stalin radically changed their stance on religion and employed it when they experienced cricis, he could not conceive there was something he could be ignorant about.
I am sure plenty of ignorant listeners are now armed with false knowlege where they previously had none.
miko
