"We are a very unhappy people"

According to my research, 72% of Americans agree with Howard Beale -- they really are "mad as hell." Second, 57% now believe that their children will inherit a worse America than they did, and just 33% believe their children will have a better quality of life than they have.

This wasn't just any single poll. My research includes interviews with 6,400 people from December 2008 through April 2009 that allow me to analyze opinions by gender, age, ethnicity, partisanship and more. It is buttressed by two dozen "instant response" groups of 30 voters in almost a dozen states over the last 100 days. No matter how I slice and dice the results, we're a very unhappy people.
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image from Zorger

If you talk in depth to self-described angry Americans -- as I have -- you don't hear raving demands or reckless hate. What you hear is fear.

But you also hear a belief in American values that many thought were lost. An incredible 88% believe in the adage "live free or die." Conversely, just 35% agree with the statement, "I want it all, and I want it now," and a slight majority (54%) believe "if it feels good, do it." It's nice to know that freedom beats obtaining more stuff. And when asked to choose from a list of social and cultural challenges facing America, the highest priority is "restoring personal responsibility." (Even in these toughest of economic times, all most Americans are asking for is a hand up, not a handout.

Frank Luntz reports on What Americans really want

The core American complaint about politics is that wrongdoing isn't punished, other than at the next election.

For business and political elites, the message should be clear: Restore trust.