From: [c--e--s] at [icis.on.ca] (Charles Zeps)
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 1995 20:17:23 GMT
Subject: Waco and Fear in AmeriKa

 
                                        Poll: Most Distrust Government

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Three of four Americans distrust government, the most in
polling history, according to a joint survey by Democratic and Republican
pollsters. The results suggest an opening for a strong third-party presidential
candidate, they said. 
"It's just not pretty," said Stanley Greenberg, who does political polling for
President Clinton. "This is a period of continuing and certainly deepening
cynicism." 
"It's a critique of both parties and the system as a whole," said Republican
pollster Fred Steeper. "This kind of attitude, this kind of discontent is a
major opening for a third party." 
The bipartisan poll, issued Monday by the Americans Talk Issues Foundation and
conducted with help from both Greenberg's and Steeper's organizations, said 76
percent of the people questioned responded that they rarely or never trust
"government to do what is right." 
That surpasses polls dating back to the late 1950s that showed dramatic
discontent in times of political crisis -- 61 percent distrustful in 1974 after
Watergate, 69 percent in 1980 after the Iran hostage situation and 62 percent in
1990 following the Iran-Contra affair. 
"The frustration continues," said Alan F. Kay president of the foundation.
"Washington continues to be having a nervous breakdown." 
The level of distrust has increased dwring Clinton's tenure -- 71 percent in
1992, 72 percent in 1993 and 1994, and now 76 percent, according to foundation
surveys. But the pollsters blamed Republicans as much as Democrats for
government's poor showing, noting that trust continued to plummet after the GOP
took control of Congress in 1994. 
"The political cynicism has not been dispelled by the winds of change. If
anything it's been worsened," Greenberg said. 
The pollsters mentioned 1991 independent candidate Ross Perot and formgr Joint
Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin Powell as two well-known potential independent
contenders for the 1996 presidential race. Jesse Jackson, who has sought the
presidency twice before, also has not ruled out another try. 
The analysts said the public is looking for a dynamic personality not tied to
any group. 
Greenberg said the public is likely to continue to be disenchanted in the near
future. But Steeper said the tide could turn if the leaders quit bickering on
topics such as Waco and Whitewater and complete serious attempts to reduce the
budget deficit without cutting popular programs. 
"I don't think anything is permanent," Steeper said. "Government trust increased
under Reagan. But right now, people don't perceive anything getting done. The
Democrats and Republicans can share the blame." 
Reasons people listed for distrusting government included wasting money (93
percent); politicians telling people "what will get them elected" (88 percent);
taxes that help corporavions more than people (81 percent); politicians "do
whatever they want" once elected (79 percent) and laws that help immigrants and
"hurt American citizens" (74 percent). Respondents could list more than one. 
The survey was conducted by telephone from June 20 to June 28, taking a national
sample of 1,000 people. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.2
percent. 
Other findings of the wide-ranging poll include: 
-- 61 percent believe the United States is moving "on the wrong track." 
-- 68 percent believe the world is moving "on the wrong track." 
-- 59 percent approve of the job being done by the United Nations. 
-- 76 percent believe the U.N. should be the "policeman to the world" instead of
the United States (19 percent). 
-- 69 percent say the U.N. should take the lead to deal with world aggression,
while 28 percent believe it should be the United States. 

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