Public Trust in Government: 1958-2010
Big Government and Its Discontents
The findings bolster what we have known since at least last summer — Americans’ tension with government has reemerged. And that picture is best seen with the barometer of modern politics, independents.
Only 18 percent of independents trust government. Half believe the government presents a “major threat” to “personal rights and freedoms.” In 1996, 70 percent of independents said the poor get too little government attention. Little more than half say the same today.
Radly Balko calls the chart The Most Encouraging Thing I’ve Seen in a Week. Yes it is.
I noticed something interesting on that chart: the three lowest points all appear to be under Democratic presidents: 1979 (Carter), 1994 (Clinton), and now under Obama. That tells you something about the public’s reaction to overt statism (The Clinton low came right after Hillarycare was defeated) and weakness in foreign affairs (Carter and Obama).
> weakness in foreign affairs (Carter and Obama).
Oh, puhleeeze. Don’t give Obama and Carter such short shrift.
They’ve been overachieving in bungling incompetence in domestic affairs, as well.
I am on record, after Obama was nominated, as saying that he would make us appreciate the quivering mound of incompetence that was the Carter presidency.
I stand by that claim. He has, indeed, demonstrated greater degrees of incompetence than even I expected.
OBH, somewhere in Georgia, every night Jimmy Carter kneels down to thank God for Obama knocking him off the “worst president” pedestal.