Confidence in the U.S. System of Government Drops to a 35-Year Low

Are you optimistic or pessimistic about "our system of government and how well it works?

  • Optimistic

    Votes: 6 30.0%
  • Pessimistic

    Votes: 11 55.0%
  • Uncertain

    Votes: 3 15.0%

  • Total voters
    20

Don

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WaPo reports:
Confidence in the U.S. system of government has dropped to a new low in more than 35 years, with public attitudes burdened by continued economic discontent, soaring gasoline prices, record opposition to the war in Afghanistan -- and a letdown in hopes for political progress after a bout of bipartisanship last fall.

Only 26 percent of Americans in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll say they're optimistic about "our system of government and how well it works," down 7 points since October to the fewest in surveys dating to 1974. Almost as many, 23 percent, are pessimistic, the closest these measures ever have come. The rest, a record high, are "uncertain" about the system.

Lots of other gravy in the article.

Are you optimistic or pessimistic about "our system of government and how well it works?"
 

kayleamay

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Pessimistic. I think it's broken and not likely to be repaired. Since this is just an opinion poll, that's as detailed as I care to get.
 

CACTUSWENDY

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I, for one, think this is good. You always have to be concerned when everyone is happy with the way things are done. IMHO this is what makes for newer and better changes. True, some bad stuff happens too, but at least it causes folks to keep their eye on what the Gov. is doing and try to keep them in check more. I think there are way too many 'yes men' around. It's good to question ideas/plans and get the 'other side of the coin' look at things. When everyone is happy....it means the propaganda is really working. This is how the 'for the people, by the people' thingy is suppose to work.
 

kayleamay

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I, for one, think this is good. You always have to be concerned when everyone is happy with the way things are done. IMHO this is what makes for newer and better changes. True, some bad stuff happens too, but at least it causes folks to keep their eye on what the Gov. is doing and try to keep them in check more. I think there are way too many 'yes men' around. It's good to question ideas/plans and get the 'other side of the coin' look at things. When everyone is happy....it means the propaganda is really working. This is how the 'for the people, by the people' thingy is suppose to work.


Does this mean you're optimistic about the pessimism? Clever take.
 

Alpha Echo

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I, for one, think this is good. You always have to be concerned when everyone is happy with the way things are done. IMHO this is what makes for newer and better changes. True, some bad stuff happens too, but at least it causes folks to keep their eye on what the Gov. is doing and try to keep them in check more. I think there are way too many 'yes men' around. It's good to question ideas/plans and get the 'other side of the coin' look at things. When everyone is happy....it means the propaganda is really working. This is how the 'for the people, by the people' thingy is suppose to work.

Does this mean you're optimistic about the pessimism? Clever take.

I agree, but what Cactuswendy says makes perfect sense. I said I am pessimistic, and I am, but this makes sense. If we're all comfortable with things, then we're not trying to change them. And things definitely need to change.

I think the scary thing is I don't have a clue how to make change come about. Forget that I'm not really very politically inclined or intelligent and a lot of it doesn't make sense to me. Even beyond that...I can't imagine being one of our leaders right now. No matter what, more people are going to complain than be happy about decisions made.

I think back to Bush and think that no matter what he did after 9/11, people would have complained.

I think to Obama who seemed to have so many great ideas and held hope for so many, and now those people are disillusioned and disappointed.

The thing is, by the time we got to Obama, it was too late. There's no turning things around, at least, not for many years.

I'm totally rambling, and the thing is, I don't see things getting any better. Not in my lifetime. Probably not in my stepdaughter's lifetime either. And that's scary.

I feel like all I can do is mind my own little corner of the world. Do what I can here and hope it's enough for our kid's kids.
 
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I think to Obama who seemed to have so many great ideas and held hope for so many, and now those people are disillusioned and disappointed.

The thing is, by the time we got to Obama, it was too late. There's no turning things around, at least, not for many years.

kids.

So instead of "yes, we can" and "change," Obama's re-election slogan should be,,,

"sorry, it's just too late." and "not my fault."??

Love'em.

We're in a rough patch right now. Still a great system.
 

Alpha Echo

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That isn't what I was saying, billy. Not at all. I was just making a point that it's going to take more than just one administration to fix things.

And I agree that we still have many freedoms and opportunities not offered in other countries. I doubt I'd have the life I have now if it weren't for the fact that I'm here, and I'm grateful for that. Very much so.

But it's scary out there.
 

regdog

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Only my opinion, but I think a lot of people had unrealistic expectations of what the country was going to be under Obama. There was almost this aura of-If Obama is elected the entire country is going to magically become Shrangra-la. The economy will right itself, the real estate market will turnaround, the wars will end, everyone will get along and there will be no partisan pissing contests in DC.

And none of that has happened. Now people are disillusioned. Reality versus expectation, not always a good thing.
 
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Only my opinion, but I think a lot of people had unrealistic expectations of what the country was going to be under Obama. There was almost this aura of-If Obama is elected the entire country is going to magically become Shrangra-la. The economy will right itself, the real estate market will turnaround, the wars will end, everyone will get along and there will be no partisan pissing contests in DC.

And none of that has happened. Now people are disillusioned. Reality versus expectation, not always a good thing.

I think if you go back to election and inauguration threads that many wise people understood that at the time.

Many dreamers didn't.

I feel bad mostly for the kids. Those college age, wide eyed believers. Who weren't old and wise enough to understand. Obama tried to tell them. He knew what the reality was.

A lot of my older friends as well. This is my friend's facebook status from literally five minutes ago...

the president is f*#^ng coward who lied to us all. this corporate prison state they think they have us trapped in is about to be over run by its own people. we are taking it to the streets today at 5:30 EVERYWHERE. Next stop Washington. No More Wars! We are Not their corporate slaves

....and he was a big Obama supporter.

A lot going on these days.
 

kayleamay

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I'm glad Obama won but I had no misconceptions about what would (or would not) be accomplished during his administration. We were so far down the FUBAR trail by then that I knew it would take decades to turn things around. DECADES. Why am I yelling at my monitor? DECADES!!!!

I can't even feign optimism. Ugh.
 

Vince524

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I have very little faith in Washington. Ithink both parties are extremly out of touch with what people want and answer mostly to their power base. The answers to most of everyday issues are never going to be solved by government.

Kid Rock, whom I am not really a big fan of,(Not that I have a big problem with him either) said this recently.

"We don't want a bunch of pot-smoking hippies running our country and we don't want a bunch of bible-thumping, 'don't do anything but worship our Lord' types, either. There's a lot people that are somewhere in between."

He kind of has a point.

Having said that, I still like the US better than most other countries.
 

regdog

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I'm glad Obama won but I had no misconceptions about what would (or would not) be accomplished during his administration. We were so far down the FUBAR trail by then that I knew it would take decades to turn things around. DECADES. Why am I yelling at my monitor? DECADES!!!!

I can't even feign optimism. Ugh.

This is the problem. People don't want to wait decades. They want each new incoming administration to fix the problem by mid term elections. When the incoming administration can't fix everything, people run out at the mid term elections and vote the other party a majority, thereby gridlocking everything with bipartisan bitching.
 

CACTUSWENDY

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I am optimistic. I guess I did not say that in my first post. There will be dark days and bright days involved, but in the long run, it has to be a good thing. Look at the 60's as an example. Lots of bad stuff happened but look at the good things that came from it. Life is never fair or all a bed of roses. My glass just happens to stay closer to the mid point then the empty point.
 

Shadow Dragon

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I'm pessimistic. In my opinion, most of our government has been bought off by large corporations. This is neither good for capitalism or democracy. Until this changes, problems will only get worse. Though I hope I'm wrong and some (peaceful) rebellions, like what happened in the sixties, pop up to change things.
 

Vince524

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actually, I think the system works just fine.

It's the moron's that are in the system that are jacking things up for everyone.

Get rid of the people and the system is fine.


Well, yeah... But then you gotta get more people to run it and well.... You see where this is going, right?
 

Don

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actually, I think the system works just fine.

It's the moron's that are in the system that are jacking things up for everyone.

Get rid of the people and the system is fine.
When was the last time we had angels in charge? ;) What are the odds we'll have them after the next election?
 

Shadow Dragon

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When was the last time we had angels in charge? ;) What are the odds we'll have them after the next election?
Never angels, but in the past we have had competent people who really wanted to make the country as a whole better, rather than just better for the people bribing... making campaign donations to them. But those type of people have become pretty rare.
 

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So instead of "yes, we can" and "change," Obama's re-election slogan should be,,,

"sorry, it's just too late." and "not my fault."??

More like "I lied. So what?? I got in office, didn't I?? Now what should I wear when Bon Jovi comes over. . . ."
 

Zoombie

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Never angels, but in the past we have had competent people who really wanted to make the country as a whole better, rather than just better for the people bribing... making campaign donations to them. But those type of people have become pretty rare.

I've got this idea that every politician since the first has been continually screwing up whatever society they've been attached too, with the really good ones being rare and vanishing treats (which we then idolize, to gloss over the mistakes of the others).

To hack up Mr. Paine: Humanity has flourished despite of coercive government.
 

Bird of Prey

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Obama ran on "change." That was his mantra.

He didn't deliver. What did he change, exactly?? Are we not still fighting two wars?? Is the unemployment rate still high?? Are we trillions in debt?? Has our healthcare insurance gotten cheaper?? Are we more secure?? Is the environment cleaner?? And are the rich richer?? Is the middle class losing ground??

No, the guy's all rhetoric and no substance. He let Pelosi do all the heavy-lifting on the healthcare initiative, and of course, it fell so far short that it's not worth implementing. In fact, it's probably unconstitutional. No. Obama had all kinds of support; he could have done great things, and he didn't. Not even close to "change we could believe in." He and Bush are two peas in a pod: "the boys that can't say no" to war and an out-of-control spending spree. . . .
 
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Prozyan

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I voted pessimistic, but I'd like to qualify. I think our system of government itself is damn fine. I think the people in it is another story. I have faith in our system of government, absolutely none in the politicians.
 

Alpha Echo

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Obama ran on "change." That was his mantra.

He didn't deliver. What did he change, exactly??

I get what you're saying, but as I said, and as others have said, change can't happen overnight. And Obama isn't the end-all, be-all. He has to have everyone else in Congress behind him. He has advisers and speech-writers. He can't just take the reigns and make all his promises come true. Thanks to Democracy (and I'm not being sarcastic here because I think Democracy, in its truest form, in the form meant to be by our forefathers, is a good thing), he can't just make everything happen the way he said it would.

Besides, all his promises of change happened before even more change happened in the States and in the World. There are a lot of things out of his control that he can't just fix and that effect the other decisions he makes.

I wasn't exactly an Obama supporter, but I didn't hate him either. I didn't believe he'd be able to make all his promises come true in such a short time. Four years is not long enough to turn all the shit around that has dominated our country. It's not. We still don't know the ultimate effects of the changes he has made, and we won't see them play out for years to come.

What is it they say? Rome wasn't built in a day?

There are a lot of things I don't like about this country. I do feel like the Feds are taking away our freedoms, little by little, and that scares the shit out of me.

But I also know that Americans have become more and more lazy. Americans allow themselves to be controlled. In fact, they demand it because they don't take care of themselves. Look at how we've become the most obese - the information they need to be healthy is more than readily available, yet taxpayers are paying for more and more obese children and adults with heart and other weight-related problems. They get lazy and don't care. They bitch and moan about new Federal or State regulations, yet they bitch and moan because they want someone to take care of them. What's a Democratic Federal Government to do?

Seriously? I know there's an appropriate line, but where do you draw it when the American people keep pushing it back?
 

Bird of Prey

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I get what you're saying, but as I said, and as others have said, change can't happen overnight. And Obama isn't the end-all, be-all. He has to have everyone else in Congress behind him.

Alpha, he couldn't have had it better with regard to the Democrat vs. Republican split. He still didn't do what he could have and should have. Instead, he left it to Pelosi on healthcare - to take the heat and come up short, and he totally screwed America on the wars. He had excuse after excuse to get out of Afghanistan with dignity, but he didn't do it. He's Bush. He spends; he cares about war; he like homage, in other words: big ego; no substance.

He has advisers and speech-writers. He can't just take the reigns and make all his promises come true. Thanks to Democracy (and I'm not being sarcastic here because I think Democracy, in its truest form, in the form meant to be by our forefathers, is a good thing), he can't just make everything happen the way he said it would.
He's a liar. Please don't get used to lying and think it's O.K. It's not O.K. Clinton told the truth about healthcare; Obama flat out lied, defeated her and got elected and then adopted her plan. . .sort of. He made it mandatory to buy healthcare insurance. She said it wouldn't work unless it was mandatory; again, he flat out denied that during his campaign. He's a liar, and for your own sake, don't trust him.

Besides, all his promises of change happened before even more change happened in the States and in the World. There are a lot of things out of his control that he can't just fix and that effect the other decisions he makes
.
Why can't he fix the things that ARE in his control?? Why didn't he??


I wasn't exactly an Obama supporter, but I didn't hate him either

I tried to support him. I was wrong.

I didn't believe he'd be able to make all his promises come true in such a short time. Four years is not long enough to turn all the shit around that has dominated our country. It's not. We still don't know the ultimate effects of the changes he has made, and we won't see them play out for years to come.

Which is on purpose. He likes a lot of lag time, like right after eight years in office, THEN we'll find out if he had anything to offer??


There are a lot of things I don't like about this country. I do feel like the Feds are taking away our freedoms, little by little, and that scares the shit out of me.

Yes, another wonderful Obama legacy. He was supposed to be the guy with transparency, remember?? Now he's got Napolitano doing all his dirty work on the "fuck over Americans" front, and is our government more transparent?? Uh, no.

But I also know that Americans have become more and more lazy. Americans allow themselves to be controlled. In fact, they demand it because they don't take care of themselves. Look at how we've become the most obese - the information they need to be healthy is more than readily available, yet taxpayers are paying for more and more obese children and adults with heart and other weight-related problems. They get lazy and don't care. They bitch and moan about new Federal or State regulations, yet they bitch and moan because they want someone to take care of them. What's a Democratic Federal Government to do?

Don't be so hard on Americans. The overweight business is often due to poverty and stress. And they also feel powerless. That's why it's up to people who can speak out to speak out.

Seriously? I know there's an appropriate line, but where do you draw it when the American people keep pushing it back?

You line up with the people who have courage and conviction. Right now the real "party of change" is taking the heat but walking the walk aka Christie, Walker, Scott, Paul, etc. aka as the Tea Party. . . .
 

Vince524

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I voted pessimistic, but I'd like to qualify. I think our system of government itself is damn fine. I think the people in it is another story. I have faith in our system of government, absolutely none in the politicians.


This. Thanks you.