Executive Summary

Dissatisfaction with the direction of the country is at a historic level, leaving the public desperate for a fundamental change of direction. Voters believe that America could be on the verge of a new chapter in our nation’s history.

In a new report commissioned by the Public Interest Projects, Inc., Stanley Greenberg and Andrew Baumann take a different approach to examining the depths of the American voter’s dissatisfaction by putting today’s problems in a historical context, comparing them to three other political eras: the 1930s FDR “New Deal” Era, the late 1970s and early 1980s when Reagan was elected, and the early 1990s of Bill Clinton.

Key Findings

• When asked to compare the current times, and the types of solutions needed to deal with their problems to the three historical periods, voters’ preferences are striking: By significant margins voters believe Roosevelt’s times and solutions are more analogous to ours than Reagan’s, but that Reagan’s are closer to ours than Clinton’s. These feelings center largely around a desire to restore an American middle class that has declined steadily in recent decades.

• Voters are looking for dramatic action. Just 35 percent of voters say we can solve America’s problems with minor changes, while nearly two-thirds believe it will take “major changes” to bring about solutions.