POLS 21 The American Political System

Introductory Remarks

What do these things have in common?• Root canals• NFL replacement refs• Head lice• Nickelback• Colonoscopies• Traffic jams• Cockroaches• Donald Trump• France• Genghis Khan• Used-car salesmen• Brussels sprouts

All of these things are more popular than CONGRESS

At least Congress remains more popular

than…

North Korea

The Kardashians

Schoolyard bullies

Meth labs

Gonorrhea

Word Cloud constructed from the responses people gave to a Pew Research Center poll in March 2010:

“One word that best describes your impression of Congress"

Presidential Job Approval, 2001-2008

20

01

20

02

20

03

20

04

20

05

20

06

20

07

20

08

0

20

40

60

80

100

Percent responding "approve"

Presidential Job Approval, 2009-2013

F

eb

rua

ry

Ma

rch

Ap

ril

Ma

y

Jun

e

July

A

ug

ust

S

ep

tem

be

r

Octo

be

r

No

vem

be

r

De

cem

be

r

Jan

ua

ryF

eb

rua

ryM

arch

Ap

rilM

ay

Jun

eJu

ly Au

gu

stS

ep

tem

be

rO

ctob

er

No

vem

be

r

De

cem

be

rJa

nu

ary

Fe

bru

ary

Ma

rchA

pril

Ma

yJu

ne

July A

ug

ust

Se

pte

mb

er

Octo

be

rN

ove

mb

er

De

cem

be

rJa

nu

ary

Fe

bru

ary

Ma

rchA

pril

Ma

yJu

ne

July A

ug

ust

Se

pte

mb

er

Octo

be

rN

ove

mb

er

De

cem

be

rJa

nu

ary

Fe

bru

ary

M

arch

Ap

rilM

ay

Jun

eJu

ly Au

gu

st

40

50

60

70

50

Percent responding "approve"

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Confidence in American Institutions, 2012

Source: CNN/USA Today/ Gallup poll, June 7-10, 2012.

"I am going to read you a list of institutions in American society. Please tell me how much confidence you, yourself, have in each one--a great deal, quite a lot, some, or very little?"

Confidence in government institutions

is comparatively low.

The militarySmall business

The policeThe church

Medical systemThe presidency

The Supreme CourtPublic schools

Criminal just ice Newspapers

Television newsOrganized labor

BanksBig business

HMOsCongress

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Percent responding "great deal" or "quite a lot"

1964

1966

1968

1970

1972

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000 P

ost 9

/11

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Percent responding "most of the time" or "j ust about always"

Trust in the Federal Government, 1964-2011"People have different ideas about the government in Washington. These ideas don't refer to

Democrats or Republicans in particular, but just to government in general. We want to see how you feel about these ideas. How much of the time do you think you can trust the government in Washington to do what is right—just about always, most of the time, or only some of the time?"

What message are these political cartoons trying to convey?

“Politics is corrupt.”

What message are these political cartoons trying to convey?

“Politicians lie.”

What message are these political cartoons trying to convey?

“The system is rigged.”

What message are these political cartoons trying to convey?

“Money always wins.”

What message are these political cartoons trying to convey?

“Why should we care?”

What message are these political cartoons trying to convey?

“Our votes don’t matter.”

What message are these political cartoons trying to convey?

“Democracy is broken.”

Evaluating Government

How well does the American system of government work? What are the most appropriate indicators?What do citizens really want from government? Are those expectations reasonable?