Allan Lichtman: The Joyless Election
[Allan Lichtman is a professor of history at American University and a national political analyst.]
...[N]ever before in the history of the United States has such a sweeping victory by one political party elicited so little joy and such minimal expectations. The American voters rejected the leadership of the Democratic Party that controlled the presidency and both Houses of Congress....
Above all, this year voters repudiated the government of the United States. This is the third consecutive election in which the voters ousted the party in power. However, dissatisfaction with government extends more deeply into the American past.
According to surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, at the time of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, some 78 percent of the American people trusted their government "most of the time." During the next 15 years, faith in government plunged steadily downhill and reached a low of just under 30 percent in the administration of President Jimmy Carter. From the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 through the first year of George W. Bush's presidency, trust in government fluctuated, but never exceeded 50 percent....
This repudiation of government reflects a paradox that is deeply engrained in our culture. Americans expect their government to provide tangible benefits such as old-age pensions, unemployment compensation, disaster relief, border security and protection from foreign threats. They expect their government to ensure a prosperous, steadily growing, full-employment economy. Some even expect government to enforce standards of personal morality. Yet, Americans also cling tenaciously to contradictory traditions of self-help, limited government and fiscal responsibility....
Read entire article at Gazette.net (MD)
...[N]ever before in the history of the United States has such a sweeping victory by one political party elicited so little joy and such minimal expectations. The American voters rejected the leadership of the Democratic Party that controlled the presidency and both Houses of Congress....
Above all, this year voters repudiated the government of the United States. This is the third consecutive election in which the voters ousted the party in power. However, dissatisfaction with government extends more deeply into the American past.
According to surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, at the time of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, some 78 percent of the American people trusted their government "most of the time." During the next 15 years, faith in government plunged steadily downhill and reached a low of just under 30 percent in the administration of President Jimmy Carter. From the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 through the first year of George W. Bush's presidency, trust in government fluctuated, but never exceeded 50 percent....
This repudiation of government reflects a paradox that is deeply engrained in our culture. Americans expect their government to provide tangible benefits such as old-age pensions, unemployment compensation, disaster relief, border security and protection from foreign threats. They expect their government to ensure a prosperous, steadily growing, full-employment economy. Some even expect government to enforce standards of personal morality. Yet, Americans also cling tenaciously to contradictory traditions of self-help, limited government and fiscal responsibility....