Stupid metrics or stupid headlines?

This isn't a bad start for a rubric:

"respondents [were asked] seven separate questions about their finances, including whether they thought they had enough money for retirement, to maintain their standard of living or to cover their monthly housing costs. Those who expressed concern about three of the seven metrics were counted as worried about their finances."

But then comes the results and the headline: "Half of Americans have money worries"

Sorry. That's more likely to support the conclusion that half of Americans can't find their arse with both hands. But we'll never know if we rely on the news story, because that reporter and publisher can't find their arses with all four hands (or, if you want to be sunny and optimistic, they just don't care). Although I must say, I do like the hardly sly intimation that it's Bush's fault: "As few as two in five people were worried about financial challenges in the early part of the George W. Bush administration."

Yeah, not even Barack Obama has been able to undo the damage, and we all know why.