Much has been said in the last several weeks regarding the idea of change and how it will affect the election of our next president.
I could easily say that voters want a different occupant of the White House and leave it at that. Or, I could take the opposite approach and simply say Americans are frustrated with the Democratic majority in Congress and want a president who will be able to get Congress to actually do something.
However, to say only one of these statements simplifies the current election and what is going on in politics in a very close-minded way.
Voters want a shift in the direction of our government. The best way for Americans to bring about change is to understand just what kind of change they want.
Regardless of how anyone spins it, most Americans are not happy with their government. Trying to find one person who approves of President Bush’s policies might be hard, considering only 32 percent of Americans do, according to a newly released Gallup poll. Even if you find one, you can find two who completely disagree.
Likewise, if you can actually find someone who approves of our current Congress, which may be still harder since the same poll said only 23 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, you can find about three others who feel the opposite way.
“I think that clearly, there is a lot of dissatisfaction with the way things are going in the country,” said Dr. Matt Baum, associate professor of political science. “Domestically, people are worried about the economy. And then with Iraq, even though it has picked up recently, in general people are not that happy with our foreign policy.”
Baum pointed out that regardless of whose fault it was, many things have not gone well for President Bush. Examples include the war in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, the economy, and the perception of “crony-ism” at the uppermost echelons of the government. He also said that despite the fact that the president has spoken like a centrist, his actual policies cater to his conservative base.
While Baum pointed out that these were simply his opinions, I cannot help but think that those low approval ratings clearly reflect the average voter’s disenchantment with the current administration. That said, the president is not the only current reason people want change in Washington.
Baum went on to discuss voters’ dissatisfaction with the now Democratically-controlled Congress: that it was extremely improbable in the first place that the Democrats would actually do something such as cut off funding for the war in Iraq, despite what they said during elections. Also, he said that, to their credit, they have turned up the pressure on the president through congressional hearings and subpoenas.
But, despite what may have been said prior to November 2006, the Democrats have not brought the change to Washington that they promised, a fact reflective in Congress’ current approval ratings.
“At the end of the day, a principled stand doesn’t get past a filibuster or a veto,” he said in reference to bills that Democrats propose even though there is little chance they will become law, such as spending bills calling for an end to the Iraq War.
What does this all mean? Well, regardless of who you are, there is at least something about our government that you want changed.
Nowhere is this sentiment more evident than at a college campus. Indeed, in polling done during the Iowa caucuses, results showed that the number of participants under 30 had tripled from the 2004 elections.
Even here at UCLA, students have a desire for change in Washington.
“People who lead this country tend to be older men with established power,” said Daniel Goldberg, a fourth-year communications student. “There seems to be a trend to break away from this kind of political machine, which is definitely a positive thing.”
Thus, when we talk about the idea of change and how it will play out in this election and in our future, let’s not simplify it. It is not just about electing a different president or changing the leadership in Congress. Once we understand the direction in which we want our government to go, we can truly call on our leaders, be they presidents, majority leaders, or speakers of the House, to change how things are done in Washington.
Contact Margolis at mmargolis@media.ucla.edu if you want change in Washington. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.