Another sad roadmarker that shows how many people have lost confidence. 45% of Americans feel that the country is less great than it was vs only 37% who believe that it is just as great. Only 16% believe that it has grown greater.
This is one of those numbers that just jumps out at you in communicating the lack of national confidence. There's hardly anyone anymore who believes that we are becoming greater. The best they can do is argue unconvincingly that we're running in place.
In the most pervasive negative, 68 percent feel that people like them have little to no influence on what the federal government does. The sharp division comes in the 33 percent who feel most disenfranchised, saying they have no influence on the government at all. Trump leads Clinton among likely voters in this group by 55-24 percent (with 12 percent for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and 5 percent for Green Party candidate Jill Stein). Voters who report little influence divide about evenly between Clinton and Trump; those who feel greater efficacy instead back Clinton by 70-20 percent.
Among other groups, Trump leads by 22 points among likely voters who think people like them don’t get a fair shake, 55-33 percent, and by 58-29 percent among those who think their quality of life has fallen behind their parents.
Trump also capitalizes on the widespread distrust of the election process. Likely voters who lack confidence that votes will be counted accurately back him over Clinton by 63-18 percent. He has a similar 61-22 percent advantage among those who think voter fraud happens somewhat or very often.
The piece tries to go with the GOP vs Dem breakdown, but independents and moderates score closer to the Republican positions on national greatness and particularly sense of personal fairness. This is where Hillary's happy talk, described by media spinners as an "optimistic campaign" begins to break down.