Our Most Serious Loss

The figures are by now familiar, a downward spiral of public faith in the President, Congress, the entire Federal government. But the latest Gallup figures show something more ominous--Americans losing trust in themselves.

Politicians come and go, but voters have always been sure they could correct mistakes at the ballot box. But now only 70 percent of Americans trust the public's ability to perform its role in a democratic government, down from 78 percent two years ago and much lower than any other previous Gallup reading.

These figures suggest a growing crisis of confidence that won’t be resolved by a change in the White House. As leading Democratic candidates now waver over promising to have our troops out by 2013 and the President goes cheerfully along his “What? Me Worry?” way, Iraq is beginning to feel like flypaper, keeping us from moving ahead on other national issues such as health care, education, economic uncertainty and social justice.

Before 9/11, we lived in a confident, even cocky, society. How do we get back the trust we lost in ourselves and one another?

Clinton-Obama: They I-They Divide

Opinion polls are revealing in the difference between what people say about themselves and an anonymous “they.” Today’s figures from Newsweek show that dramatically.

While 92 percent of respondents would vote for an African American candidate, only 59 percent believe the U.S. is ready. Although 86 percent say they would vote for a woman, only 58 percent believe the country would accept the idea.

That divide, which has been shrinking over the past year, seems to reflect the common tendency to claim “correct” attitudes for one’s self and project ambivalence onto others “out there.”

If so, Sens. Clinton and Obama can take heart that their newness is gradually being accepted.

In this uncharted political terrain, time is helping the former First Lady. When expressing their “comfort level,” more than two-thirds of voters feel Clinton has enough experience in government to be a good president. For Obama, the number is 40 percent.

Whichever of them becomes the Democratic nominee will benefit from this long season of persuading Americans to bridge the gap between themselves and the anonymous “they” toward a confident “we.”