In Romance with USA, Americans Play Hard to Get
In Romance with USA, Americans Play Hard to Get
An op-ed chart in the morning’s New York Times bore sobering news for President Bush: when compared with previous two term presidents, Bush just isn’t very appealing. Of the last three reelected presidents–Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton–only the scandal-ridden Nixon had a more precipitous decline in second-term support, from 67% to 39%. Bush currently stands at just 44% approval.
But the NYT chart contained another juicy piece of information: favorable ratings for Congress have steadily declined over the same 30-year period. They’ve fallen from 79% (in 1973), to 57% (in 1985), to 52% (in 1997), to a current-day low of 49%. In other words, we live in an age where less than half the country approves of the president, and less than half the country approves of congress.
In fact, it’s difficult to know just what Americans do approve of. Only 39% of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court, which means that the public disapproves of all three branches of government.
And the media? It turns out that Americans like (and trust) those folks less and less. A Pew Study found that in 1985 84% of Americans could “believe most of what they read in their daily newspaper.” By 2004 that figure had fallen to just 54%
And yet, in a bizarre instance of cognitive dissonance, Americans are still some of the most patriotic people on the planet: a recent Roper poll found that 8 in 10 people think patriotism is “in,” and consider themselves very patriotic.
Is this evidence that Americans like America, and simply hate everything in it?
– Conor Clarke
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Americans like America and dislike their government. Seems about right.
August 9th, 2005 at 2:01 pmPeople in other countries make a distinction between Americans and their leadership. Why can’t we?
August 9th, 2005 at 2:10 pmWhen we the people see that the govt. no longer works for us and serves us, we resent it.
August 9th, 2005 at 2:22 pmG.S. got it right. Americans don’t believe their “leaders” are working for them. Things just haven’t gotten bad enough to where they’re going to fight to change this.
August 9th, 2005 at 2:24 pmThis is exactly what we need to exploit. There is a visceral distrust of government, Americans can’t quite put words to their fears. We as progressives need to give it a title of Rupublicans sold you out and give the voters an alternative.
August 9th, 2005 at 2:34 pmMassachusetts Liberal,
August 9th, 2005 at 2:35 pmyou took the words right out of my mouth… I will add, however, that the revolution is at hand.
Another slight disconnect: Most Americans want to arrest Bin Laden. Bush wants to arrest Cindy Sheehan.
http://admin.meetwithcindy.org/?q=node/53
August 9th, 2005 at 2:39 pmWell cindy Sheehan is a threat to national security..
damn where is my satire mark
August 9th, 2005 at 2:47 pmGreat piece. Do you think that the government or media care enough to DO anything about these startling numbers?
August 9th, 2005 at 3:03 pmIt’s party over people and elections decided by non-issues like homosexuality. Our leaders are akin to telemarketers.
August 9th, 2005 at 3:07 pmNot one Republican has questioned the CIA leak. I have been afraid to say it, but I think this is 2 countries.
Massachusetts Liberal sums it up pretty well.
August 9th, 2005 at 3:09 pmAs a Canadian who frequently travels to the US and has friends/relatives living there, it seem sthat the more Americans feel they are critcized by the rest of the world, the more they “circle the wagons” so to speak.
So it isn’t surprising in times like this when a very unpopular President around the globe is re-elected, a unpopular war is supported, and the #1 news station spends most of it’s time spewing hatred of other countries and allies, that most of the world is annoyed by US policies and actions. What IS surprising to many non-Americans who don’t frequent the country, is that the more the world tries to help and offer criticism, the more the citizens rally around their President and his policies and push everyone else away…even though they too disagree with what is going on.
It’s a strange behaviour but it happens all the time.
August 9th, 2005 at 3:12 pmGreat piece. Do you think that the government or media care enough to DO anything about these startling numbers?
I’ve no doubt they care, but they are either clueless as to why they are distrusted, or so corrupt and compromised that they can’t address the real causes. Kinda like the alcoholic who sees his family falling apart and friends pulling away, and will do anything to stop that from happening as long as it doesn’t involve drinking less.
August 9th, 2005 at 3:14 pmRosencrantz: Please be aware that Americans did not re-elect (or even elect) Bush. The election was stolen through computer fraud as well as massive disenfranchisement and deterrence of Democratic voters.
August 9th, 2005 at 3:16 pmNo, it means the people of Alabama are reproducing way too quickly.
August 9th, 2005 at 3:17 pm#1, 2 & 3–You are most certainly right, and no one’s arguing against making distinctions where distinctions should be made. But I’m more curious about the long-term trends: Americans’ faith in goverment seems to have fallen over the past 30 years independent of who’s actually in power. (Have things really been getting worse and worse this entire time? One might expect a bump up during the prosperous 90s, no?)
I’m also curious about this because, as distrust of government and media has grown, patriotism has INCREASED, not just remained constant (and this is not only a result of 9/11). You are all right, but these seem like very strange long-term phenomena..
#9–I doubt it…
-Conor Clarke
August 9th, 2005 at 3:17 pm“Is this evidence that Americans like America, and simply hate everything in it?”
This is absolutely a fact. Sadly, most Americans will react to that fact by simply refusing to bother to vote in coming elections. That, of course, plays right into the hands of GOP incumbents. That’s essentially how the crooks manage to stay in power. Disenfranchisement has been a major tool of the re-election process for a long time now.
August 9th, 2005 at 3:19 pmThe supreme law of the land is The Constitution and Bill of Rights!
Perpetual war, larceny and treason on a monumental scale, and the trampling underfoot of our UNALTERABLE RIGHTS, will not go unpunished!
If you are an American, you believe in the founding documents. It really is that simple. What we have in Washington is not American, it’s Neo Corporate Fascism.
August 9th, 2005 at 3:20 pmAmerica – the land we love to hate.
August 9th, 2005 at 3:26 pmOr maybe we like our country, but we are not happy with our leadership. If half of us don’t like the president, or congress or the courts, that should be a wake up call to those in office: the public is restless, unhappy and growing more so — elected officials better perform a little self-assessment. An upheaval is simmering and if things don’t change, there could be a full-scale rebellion.
Enough with your bs polls. The only one that matters, you people cannot win. I have never seen such a ridiculous, self deluded bunch. While the GOP is busy shaping the Courts, crafting energy policy, bankruptcy reform and at some point, ss reform – you morons are hanging out to polls that mean nothing.
Did you not learn your lesson last year? You people are pathetic and clueless.
August 9th, 2005 at 3:29 pmMrB is right, what we have here is a nascent fascist government, aided by a compliant population, and a lazy press.
August 9th, 2005 at 3:30 pm#21 – fascist – are you kidding me!!!!
Marie – you’re the poster child for why Democrats will never get back in power. But don’t stop – please. The GOP couldn’t win on their own.
August 9th, 2005 at 3:33 pmDon’t tell me, NED. You one of these folks that don’t mind bein’ searched cuz you got nothin’ to hide?
August 9th, 2005 at 3:40 pmTo Canadian (#12). Doesn’t it seem odd to anyone that Bush is highly unpopular and his policies are not supported by the majority of Americans, yet just 8 months ago he was “supposedly” re-elected? The exit polls showed that he was not “elected.” The poll ratings show that he is disliked and not approved. His policy on Social Security Insurance (SSI) is dead in the water. The Repub Congress has given the American people the shaft with huge tax cuts and welfare incentives given to the coporate-oil-banking alliance. There are two Americas: the people versus the corporate-oil-banking alliance. The neo-cons in the White House and Congress are not Republicans, but they have stolen the Repub Party and our country. I keep wondering when will the revolution begin?
August 9th, 2005 at 3:40 pmBrian – you people make no sense. If we get attacked, you complain that Bush did nothing to stop it. But, if people get searched in fear that someone is trying to screw with transit, you cry fascism. Which is it?
Personally, I HATE that I could get searched on my way to work. But, I don’t blame Bush – I blame the terrorists!
August 9th, 2005 at 3:43 pmVisceral reaction, not issues, are driving public opinion. People do not trust government because they “feel” they have little control over larger issues. A general malaise over the last 30 years, I believe, is driven by external factors in which the individual American has little influence. America is by far the most influential and powerful nationstate on the planet, yet a fear of loss of control drives Americans to behave as #12 Rosencrantz above states. Let us hope that American cognitive dissonance does not erupt into full blown psychosis in the coming years.
August 9th, 2005 at 3:43 pmThere’s hope for you after all, NED.
August 9th, 2005 at 3:47 pmDear Baby Jesus NED, why hasn’t your mother put you down for your nap.
August 9th, 2005 at 3:47 pmPeople like “The Northeast Dilemma” have never read the Constitution or Bill of Rights. How can we have a reasonable conversation about American Government when they have no grasp of the basics?
- “Many are destined to reason wrongly; others, not to reason at all; and others to persecute those who do reason.” – Voltaire -
August 9th, 2005 at 3:49 pmI Love America, Cindy Sheehan, Gays and Evolution
Think Progress crunches the numbers to find that Americans really like America but dislike just about everyone running it.
* Ezra Klein on the troubles Cindy Sheehan is causing for the prez down there in Crawford. Those darn military moms! They ne…
August 9th, 2005 at 3:53 pmNED gets all his “facts” straight from Faux News — what Constitution – - what Bill of Rights?
August 9th, 2005 at 4:03 pmSpeaking of Faux News — anyone read O’Reilly today taking the moral high ground against perverts — when we were kids we used to say “it takes one to know one.” O’Reilly has no clue of his hypocrisy.
#31 er..ROFL! O’Reilly… What a tool!
August 9th, 2005 at 4:04 pmMarie – liberals know nothing about the Constitution. You use the Supreme Court to advance you ultra-liberal, pro-hate agenda.
August 9th, 2005 at 4:10 pmOnly three reasons that you could support a Republican for anything:
Greed.
Ignorance.
Evil.
All of the more specific issues boil down to these three.
August 9th, 2005 at 4:25 pmNED, what exactly WAS the lesson of the last election, we were supposed to learn?
August 9th, 2005 at 4:31 pmFor repubs, it’s only about winning; like a small child. And, that is about all NeD can say in nearly every single post *snore*. Obviously he has deep issues with respect to the fear of loss (I choose not to delve into that pathology).
They truly don’t care about human rights, individual freedom or the consequences of all of this “winning.” I don’t mind that some people are so narrow, but when they influence our children with their antiquated brand of cloak and dagger beliefs, I worry. I know that the average American will eventually stand up, just like in the 60s, however, it is difficult to imagine Americans giving up even a portion of their greed. They need the large SUVs and the extra bedroom, etc. I am so ashamed that millions starve while we eat a second bag of popcorn at the movies, while we try to “get away” from it all. We should not get away, it should be in our face every minute. Thanks to websites like this one it is, and I applaud all of you, sans the posters who just want to make others mad because they desperately need the attention, for taking the time to talk about the issues and unite for a cause.
VIVA LA REVOLUTION!!
Like George Washington said, and I paraphrase, it is unpatriotic NOT to question our president. That is all we are doing, being patriotic.
August 9th, 2005 at 4:37 pmwhat exactly WAS the lesson of the last election, we were supposed to learn?
“Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything.” (attributed to Josef Stalin)
August 9th, 2005 at 4:38 pmThe snag with 2004 election is that before it, the rest of the world could separate the government from the people. Not anymore, the ROTW sees that the US people are capable of returning a proto-Christo-fascist government and unfortunately for you, the distinction is vanishing quickly. The ROTW sees US people as being more like NED now (who I would say might last about 5 minutes on the streets of, say Rio or Caracas for example). US as a fascist nation? Fascism is best described as corporatism, where the state and business are one – that’s a paraphrase of Mussolini.
August 9th, 2005 at 5:31 pmRight on Gary – if anyone thinks 2006 will be any different, you are delusional. You will need to be in the streets this time to get your democracy back.
August 9th, 2005 at 5:33 pm“Marie – liberals know nothing about the Constitution. You use the Supreme Court to advance you ultra-liberal, pro-hate agenda.”
Bahaha – yeah we know nothing about the constitution! When you call your congressmen and force him to require a guaranteed receipt to protect the voting rights layed out in the constitution – we’ll talk. Until then you’re just a little weasel with a big ugly mouth…
And remember it’s the LIBERALS who protect the consitution – the ACLU is a LIBERAL organization that even protected rush limbaugh when it was a constitutional issue. The Heritage foundation and your other cynical and self serving hypocritical friends would shove liberals off a cliff in violation of the constitution (can anyone say plame?) when it suits their radical and childish agenda… Before you lectures others on constitutional expertise – you better first start defending the principles yourself! But then again – it was never about the ‘constitution’, because it’s clear you prefer a dictatorship of one party and one outdated opinion grounded in the 1950s leave it beaver delusion that never was…
August 9th, 2005 at 6:25 pmThe disconnect is between the people who occupy the institutions and the institutions. They dislike this congress, this president, this court, not the Congress, Presidency, and Courts.
August 10th, 2005 at 2:17 pmI keep hearing that Americans today are expressing their disapproval of Congress in record numbers. But if they’re happy with their OWN Senators & Representatives, then these disapproval numbers are meaningless. I think the poll should also ask what people think of their own Senators and Representatives, and whether they intend to take their feelings to the polls at the next opportunity. This would be information worth having.
August 10th, 2005 at 2:37 pm[...] More: thinkprogress.org [...]
August 11th, 2005 at 1:48 amAmerica was founded by people who despised the government that controlled them. It should be innately patriotic to hate the government. Even the little control we do have over what happens in Washington is not really worth mentioning when we realize that we have allowed a retarded monkey to take control of our nation.
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December 4th, 2005 at 1:12 pmwhat is a dagger
In this case, however, the part most affected by corrosion, the edge, is still vulnerable. Knives are made with partial (extending
March 16th, 2008 at 10:41 pmAllison Hannigan
This is great
April 1st, 2008 at 12:03 pmSherman
The more you are willing to accept responsibility for your actions, the more credibility you will have.
April 7th, 2008 at 10:20 pm