Liberal bias in colleges?

Conservatives often contend that most colleges and their professors have a liberal bias they impart onto students. Some of the data in a Fact Sheet released today by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE, another example of stretching the name to make a catchy acronym) may add some fodder to that debate, but there's plenty of data to contradict such a conclusion.

People with college experience were more likely to believe Obama would handle key issues better than Romney, yet more non-college people strongly approved of Obama (37%) than those with college experience (27%).

Slightly more of the college-experience crowd labeled themselves liberal (35% vs. 30% - the bulk in both groups said they were moderates). Yet the none-college crowd was more diverse (49% white vs. 61% for the college crowd) and more likely to identify themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual.

Those with college experience were more likely to blame Obama for the current economic woes than the non college counterparts (In both groups, the majority blamed George W. Bush).

And at the bottom line - who got their votes - the percentage voting for Obama was the same: 60% in each group.

I've never put much stock in the liberal-bias-in-college argument.There are too many other factors - most importantly a student's upbringing and parental influence, to blame a professor for swaying a student one way or the other.

Seems to me the CIRCLE data suggest young people are generally - but hardly overwhelmingly - liberal, with or without college.