Two evils

[Legion Troll]

American voters will face a choice of historically negative magnitude, between two major-party candidates whom the public, as a whole, intensely dislike.

We only started polling on trustworthiness and character of candidates in the 1950s. But since we’ve been doing it, these are the least-trusted pair of candidates by far. There has never been anything like it, at least in modern times.

In theory, a public mood of deep distrust of government and politicians should have made voters hungry for an impeccable, plausible ― and presumably younger and less damaged ― newcomer.

It hasn’t worked out that way. Some of the reasons are particular to the Democratic and Republican parties.

Midterm elections in 2010 and 2014, both characterized by backlash to Barack Obama’s presidential victories, wiped out a younger generation of potential challengers to a Clinton brand that was launched in the 1980s.

Hillary was left facing a ridiculously weak field. I like Bernie Sanders, but come on. The fact that he got as far as he did, showed that there really wasn’t anybody to knock off Hillary.

On the GOP side, the party was the victim of the cynicism it had sowed for decades about the role of government ― and politicians. And the often valid critique of “big” government transformed in the Obama years into an open, out-and-out hatred of immigrants, minorities and any “other” who threatened white voters.

The Republicans since 2010 have been electing more and more extreme candidates,. The Tea Party and its aftermath was never just about Obamacare ― it was about THEM.

The natural result was Donald Trump ― it would have been Ted Cruz had it not been for Trump.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-popularity-trust_us_5782b2b3e4b01edea78e7277?section=

 

[Billy Batts]

Sad but true.

 

[Legion Troll]

 

[Legion Troll]

 

[Legion Troll]

A majority of Americans say they're frustrated, angry — or both — with the 2016 presidential election, according to a new poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Most Americans aren't feeling proud or hopeful about the race, and half feel helpless, the results find.

Majorities of Americans want more focus on issues that are important to them, starting with health care, Social Security, education, and security.

Apathy isn't the problem, the survey found. Eighty-six percent of Americans are paying at least some attention to the race.

Trump has built his campaign in large part on attention-getting —and frequently untrue — accusations, such as that Obama "founded" the Islamic State.

Whether the candidates ever get to informative discussions of their policy positions and their professional qualifications is unclear. But the demand is there.

The survey found that nearly two-thirds of Americans say the campaign focuses too little on the issues that matter to them personally. More than 6 in 10 Americans of both parties agree. A bit more than half say there's been too little focus on the candidates' qualifications, with Democrats being more likely than Republicans to feel that way, 61 percent to 45 percent. And more than half of Americans in the survey said the campaign is focused too much on the personal characteristics of the candidates, with Republicans and Democrats about equally likely to feel that way.

The issues Americans care most about?

Health care comes in first, with 81 percent listing that as very or extremely important, while high percentages said the same about Social Security, education, terrorism and security. At least three-quarters from both parties call Social Security very important.

Ranking lower, according to the findings: immigration, with just 61 percent listing the issue as very or extremely important to them.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ap-norc-poll-most-us-frustrated-over-presidential-140335685--election.html