Seeking America’s ‘lost’ greatness and finding Trump most appealing

Washington Post ^ | October 31, 2015 | Marc Fisher

[McGruff]

The way Joe McCoy sees it, the last time America was great was when Ronald Reagan was president, when people played by the rules. No, it was in the '70s, Holly Martin says, when you could depend on Americans to work hard. No, to find true American greatness, Steve Trivett contends, you need to go back to before the Vietnam War, "when you could still own a home and have a good job even if you didn't have a college education."

Even if they don't have a "Make America Great Again" campaign cap, Donald Trump's supporters easily recite the signature slogan of the real estate developer's insurgent presidential bid. And even if they don't agree on exactly why the country lost its way, they do accept - give or take a few degrees of hyperbole - Trump's contention that the United States has become, as he has put it, "an economic wasteland" that is "committing cultural suicide."

[catnipman]

“What I am taking away from debates is that people have pretty much made up their minds on who they like, and a zinger here and there is not going to move the needle all that much.”

It does seem that way. I would have expected the last debate to increase support for Cruz, Rubio and even Christie given their debate performances. Heck, even Huckabee and Fiorina did well if you didn’t know anything else about them.

[boop]

I'm too young to remember FDR or JFK, but those years were known as America is #1. There was such a love of country expressed. Then Reagan came along, and you could actually tangibly feel that America WAS great again.

I saw the President at one of his whistle stop tours for the 1984 re-election.

I cannot describe the feeling of seeing such a great man, and how he truly DID make us feel proud.

I haven't felt that way about a POTUS since.

I think that If Trump came across as more optimistic (like Reagan), he'd be unstoppable.

[Jacquerie]

What should be done?

[Jim Noble]

I wish a buck was still silver, it was back when the country was strong...