America: Land of Unlimited Anger
Published in Der Tagesspiegel
(Germany) on 16 February 2010
by Christoph von Marschall (link to
original)
America is becoming impossible to govern. Voters want neither Obama nor the Republicans.
America remains the land of unlimited opportunities. For the time being, however, it’s a land of unlimited rage and disarray about the balance of political power. Conflicting theories may be formulated from the more reputable surveys.
Theory one: President Barack Obama has completed one year since his triumphal election victory. Only one-third of American voters think the country is on the right track — nearly as bad as George W. Bush’s numbers near the end of his administration. Obama’s approval ratings have slipped below the 50 percent mark. He lost the ability of his party to shape the future with the Senate election in Massachusetts. If congressional elections were held today, the Republicans would win by 48 percent to 45 percent for Democrats (according to The Washington Post). The newspaper describes the Republicans as “on the rise.”
Theory two: The Republicans are the big losers. People are angrier with their obstructionist tactics than they are with the president. Obama’s approval numbers are at 47.6 percent compared to the 20.4 percent approval rating the public gives Congress. If elections were held today, says The New York Times, the Democrats would win with 45 percent against the Republicans’ 42 percent. The newspaper concludes that Obama retains his lead.
One doesn’t get very far by asking how popular specific individuals, institutions or projects are. The most powerful forces in play are anger against the system and rejection of politicians in general. That cuts across all party lines, even if there are particular gradations. Even among Democrats, The Economist magazine claims only four percent describe themselves as “enthusiastic” and a further 30 percent as “satisfied.” Thirty-five percent say they are “dissatisfied, but not angry,” while 24 percent describe themselves as “dissatisfied and angry.” Among Republicans, 60 percent say they are “dissatisfied and angry,” with another 31 percent responding “dissatisfied, but not angry.” Fifty-two percent of independents say they are angry and 32 percent are “dissatisfied, but not angry.”
The 73.4 percent of voters dissatisfied with Congress has never been historically so high. The same holds true of voters who say they would not vote to keep their own representatives — more than 50 percent — and the dissatisfaction affects everybody. In 1994 and 2006, when Bill Clinton and George W. Bush lost their majorities, the mid-term elections were protests against those presidents. Today, the anger is directed with equal vehemence against prominent people in the opposition as well. Even John McCain has to worry about re-election.
This atmosphere should force both parties to make compromises in order to regain the confidence of the American people. The anger has resulted in the emergence of fundamentalist protest movements like the Tea Party that reject any compromise with Obama whatsoever. They may only be 10 percent of voters, but no Republican dares oppose them.
Earth-shaking majorities opposed to everything, Congress seemingly incapable of coming up with majorities in support of anything — it looks like America is temporarily ungovernable, at least until the mid-term elections next November. Even those may not result in a clear answer to the question of power.
America remains the land of unlimited opportunities. For the time being, however, it’s a land of unlimited rage and disarray about the balance of political power. Conflicting theories may be formulated from the more reputable surveys.
Theory one: President Barack Obama has completed one year since his triumphal election victory. Only one-third of American voters think the country is on the right track — nearly as bad as George W. Bush’s numbers near the end of his administration. Obama’s approval ratings have slipped below the 50 percent mark. He lost the ability of his party to shape the future with the Senate election in Massachusetts. If congressional elections were held today, the Republicans would win by 48 percent to 45 percent for Democrats (according to The Washington Post). The newspaper describes the Republicans as “on the rise.”
Theory two: The Republicans are the big losers. People are angrier with their obstructionist tactics than they are with the president. Obama’s approval numbers are at 47.6 percent compared to the 20.4 percent approval rating the public gives Congress. If elections were held today, says The New York Times, the Democrats would win with 45 percent against the Republicans’ 42 percent. The newspaper concludes that Obama retains his lead.
One doesn’t get very far by asking how popular specific individuals, institutions or projects are. The most powerful forces in play are anger against the system and rejection of politicians in general. That cuts across all party lines, even if there are particular gradations. Even among Democrats, The Economist magazine claims only four percent describe themselves as “enthusiastic” and a further 30 percent as “satisfied.” Thirty-five percent say they are “dissatisfied, but not angry,” while 24 percent describe themselves as “dissatisfied and angry.” Among Republicans, 60 percent say they are “dissatisfied and angry,” with another 31 percent responding “dissatisfied, but not angry.” Fifty-two percent of independents say they are angry and 32 percent are “dissatisfied, but not angry.”
The 73.4 percent of voters dissatisfied with Congress has never been historically so high. The same holds true of voters who say they would not vote to keep their own representatives — more than 50 percent — and the dissatisfaction affects everybody. In 1994 and 2006, when Bill Clinton and George W. Bush lost their majorities, the mid-term elections were protests against those presidents. Today, the anger is directed with equal vehemence against prominent people in the opposition as well. Even John McCain has to worry about re-election.
This atmosphere should force both parties to make compromises in order to regain the confidence of the American people. The anger has resulted in the emergence of fundamentalist protest movements like the Tea Party that reject any compromise with Obama whatsoever. They may only be 10 percent of voters, but no Republican dares oppose them.
Earth-shaking majorities opposed to everything, Congress seemingly incapable of coming up with majorities in support of anything — it looks like America is temporarily ungovernable, at least until the mid-term elections next November. Even those may not result in a clear answer to the question of power.