◼ Suddenly the Constitution is newsworthy.
The House of Representatives recently read it aloud for the first time ever, it's been called obscure beyond understanding, termed a document of racist oppression, invoked by the Tea Party, and proposed as the basis for new legislation.
One survey found that Americans believe overwhelmingly that the Constitution is important, but they demonstrate an alarming lack of knowledge of the document: Only about one out of three could identify the branches of the federal government, and just 6 percent knew all the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment....
