Political Categorization

I want to make a quick point about political categorization.

Recent polls "show" that those polled Americans are now more likely to classify themselves as "conservative." During the Bush administration, those polled Americans were most likely to classify themselves as moderates or independents.

I often challenge people who label me "liberal/progressive/conservative" because I don't think those applying the label can honestly define what the label means. I think these polls show the same thing. The people labeling themselves are doing so NOT because they have an understanding of what the labels really mean and have taken time to see to which they more closely align, they are doing so as a REACTION to things they don't like.