Poll: Americans' confidence in the federal government at a 50-year low, 80 percent are wary

Morning Call ^ | 4/19/2010 | Staff

[listenhillary]

More government is always the wrong answer to any problem.

Our representatives are slow to learn this lesson and appear to do the opposite 99.99% of the time.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Good point. A 40 year low would have referred back to Viet Nam which I would have understood. But going back to 1960 is hard to fathom. The Bay of Pigs was 1961; Tonkin Gulf didn’t occur until 1964; Cuban Missile crisis was in 1962; the ramping up of welfare and destruction of a large swath of American Society didn’t begin until 1964. Maybe he’s referring to the totality of these events. But I still think they would pale against Viet Nam.

[Le Chien Rouge]

“Poll: Americans’ confidence in the federal government at a 50-year low, 80 percent are wary”

Does this poll mean that 80% of Americans are racist for being wary of the federal government??

[Principled]

Nearly half say the government negatively effects their daily lives,...

Just damn.

[Loud Mime]

So, 20% do not distrust government.
Those must be federal employees.

[Lonely Bull]

I wrote,

BUSH’S FALT!!!!111!!!11!!!!

Then I went and read the article.

But the poll also identified a combination of factors that contributed to the electorate's hostility: the recession that Obama inherited from President George W. Bush; a dispirited public; and anger with Congress and politicians of all political leanings.

So it's Bush's Fault® after all! I'm so relieved.

[sam_paine]

Name one thing that isn't regulated by the government.

Marital oral sex? Dust mites? Photosynthesis? Gravity?

[DCBryan1]

LOL....and 10 percent of that number wants the shooting to commence. I have my list....do you have yours?

[Lonely Bull]

Name one thing that isn't regulated by the government.

Marital oral sex? Dust mites? Photosynthesis? Gravity?

Just you wait.

[ohioWfan]

This number won't get any better as long as Obama, Pelosi and Reid keep openly mocking the American people.

We'll win in the end, you elitist morons. Keep it up.

[sam_paine]

Govarment skhools.

[Charles Martel]

I think the polls aren’t completely off the cliff due to political correctness.

Yep, that's very probable. Without that factor, this would probably be a "150-year low."

[OldArmy52]

80 pct are mis-trusting (gee! wonder why?)
the other 20 pct have no radio/tv and can’t read...or are Liberals.

[6SJ7]

Wouldn’t it be delicious if public furor grew so cacaphonous prior to the election that the Dems preemptively repealed ObamaCare in hopes of averting an electoral tsunami?

That might happen with a normal politician who is more interested in getting elected than any particular ideology. With these "true believers" in control, the calculus is a bit different. They believe they are in the right and the people just need to be educated to "see the light".

[b4its2late]

So, I guess it’s the right wing’s fault.....

[Chances Are]

That response reminds me - back when I was a kid in the 9th grade, we had a new (to the school system) English teacher. He was a little off, but well meaning, I guess.

Anyway, one day his exasperation with the class became evident, and he spelled out on the blackboard, “G-O-V-E-R-N-M-E-N-T” (without the dashes - I put that in there for dramatic effect, but he did use all caps), and commenced to teach us anew:

“Repeat after me, class! GOV-ERN-MENT! GOVVV-ERNNNN-MENT!”

In unison, the class replied, “guvament”!

CA....

[SeattleBruce]

“50 year low? You mean the last time the people were so distrustful of government, Kennedy was president?”
+++++++++++++++++

From the article:
“Public confidence in government is at one of the lowest points in a half century, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center.”

[ClearCase_guy]

What we have here (in my opinion) is sloppy and ambiguous journalism.

The headline says confidence in the federal government is at a 50 year low.
The article says that confidence in government is at one of the lowest points in half a century.
I don't think it's clear that a lower figure was recorded in a poll in 1960.
It seems to me that such polls may have been done for 50 years and that no president has ever scored as low as Obama.

And, lastly, as others have pointed out to me, 50 years ago, Eisenhower was president -- does anyone seriously think that some huge percentage of Americans thought that Dwight Eisenhower was some sort of treasonous, commie-loving, American-hating SOB?????

Obama stands alone in this category.

[txhurl]

I would say 250 year low. This is 30 points higher than when we had King George!!

[SeekAndFind]

RE: 80% are wary of Washington

REALLY ? If this is so, why do we continue to elect the very people who will all but guarantee the increasing size of the Federal Government ?

Something does not compute between this poll and what I am seeing.