“Elites like President Obama see government as a force for protecting the little guy,” explains University of Arkansas political scientist Robert Maranto. “But regular folks on Main Street see government as incomprehensible and unpredictable.”
Even with the best of intentions, government almost always does more harm than good.
When President Obama orders corporate bailouts, a stimulus plan that costs a quarter-million-dollars a job, or talks more about expanding government than reducing unemployment, folks are naturally skeptical, Maranto says.
Most Americans are Jeffersonians: They want limited government – totally at odds with Obama, who wants government without limits.
Much of the nation can buy a nice house for $150,000, live in a safe neighborhood with good schools and in general have peace of mind – and do it on one income.
For folks in places like Indiana, Pa., the economic insecurity of Chicago or both coasts – where people may work two jobs to live in a safe neighborhood – is totally foreign. So the president is pitching his economic policies to people who may care less about money and more about values.
While Indiana County’s voter registration shows Democrats still outnumber Republicans, it is independent voters who have grown lately.
“These are the people that might not attend a Tea Party, but they find them aligned with their concerns,” says pollster G. Terry Madonna. “They are less and less happy with government … so they end up unaligned.”
This week the president kicks off his first “listening tour” on another Pennsylvania main street.
It may be an effort to turn his slumping popularity – but it might be more effective if he embraced some policies favored by the Jeffersonian middle rather then staged another brilliant speech to pre-selected supporters with pre-screened questions.