… Americans have in recent years become more negative about their government and have concomitantly become more negative about the ability of the American people as a whole “when it comes to making judgments under our democratic system about the issues facing our country.” There are many plausible reasons for these downward trends in confidence, but whatever the cause, they represent a fundamental challenge for the nation and its future.
But — and perhaps this is good news — Americans’ confidence in the people themselves remains significantly higher than confidence in the legislative and executive aspects of the federal government and in the men and women who are elected to or running for federal office. Establishing better ways in which the wisdom of the people can be translated into election outcomes, in short, could represent one way to stem the tide in rising cynicism and loss of faith in government. CONTINUED
Frank Newport, Gallup
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