Mostly because fear and misinformation is what gets ratings for the news media. This is evident with any controversial issue. Facts don't sell nearly as well as exaggeration and outright untruth. Also, the winner-takes-all two party system doesn't help this.
That being said, I believe individualism is more prized in America than in much of the rest of the developed world. A significant portion of Americans desire a much smaller federal government than what currently exists.
This goes both ways really. If she'd given a well thought out and reasonable answer, it wouldn't have been worthy of the 24 hour news overload.
You hit the nail on the head on that one.
+1
