There is a barrier created by the MSM. The elite politicians and the every day middle class American Joes (like me) are not well connected. Those at the top are trying to see through a fog of what the pulse of the people is. Unfortunately, they look through binoculars issued by a liberal media. Many get an out of phase understanding of what we elected them for.
The biggest problem with the MSM? They no longer recognize right from wrong. They do not acknowledge good and evil. They refuse to put anything in real context beyond how news affects opnion polls and elections. A good reporter would not only give all sides to a story, they would put world issues in historical perspectives. Here is an example of a simple issue that the new media would report that the MSM would not:
The economy is doing well. Tax cuts must be given the largest credit for its progress. Historically, each time the government has lowered taxes, the economy exceeds growth expectations. Fill in details of the economy here past and present.
The difference from 30-35 years ago is that the GOP's conservative base, rather than sneering at and talking back to Walter Cronkite or Eric Severeid, mostly ignores their successors. What is more, the moderate middle is slowly shrinking. The South, lower Midwest, and Rocky Mountain States, except where minorities or transplanted Northeasterners or Californians hold sway, are increasingly Republican. The Northeast and Middle Atlantic region, except maybe Pennsylvania, and the West Coast are becoming solidly Democratic. The apolitical among us have numerous media channels that enable them to avoid watching the MSM news. Even the hard core left has what they call the indy media, to counteract what they consider to be the corporate media like the old three networks, Fox, CNN, and the major newspapers and news magazines.
Hopefully, the next Republican administration will realize that the MSM are paper tigers.