# data[].attributes.headline
New High 54% Want Government to Solve More Problems in U.S.

# data[].attributes.subject
New High 54% Want Government to Solve More Problems in U.S.

# data[].attributes.headline
Biden's Covid relief bill is huge, ambitious and about to pass

# data[].attributes.subject
Biden's Covid relief bill is huge, ambitious and about to pass

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
covid relief bill: biden's stimulus package is huge

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
ambitious and about to pass - cnnpolitics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Analysis: Biden's Covid relief bill is huge, ambitious and about to pass

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
President Joe Biden plans to use the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill expected to pass Congress on Wednesday as a platform for a generational transformation of the economy to benefit the least well-off Americans and alleviate poverty.

# data[].attributes.headline
“I Will Not Promise the Moon”: Alf Landon Opposes the Social Security Act, 1936by Alf Landon

# data[].attributes.subject
“I Will Not Promise the Moon”: Alf Landon Opposes the Social Security Act, 1936by Alf Landon

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"I Will Not Promise the Moon": Alf Landon Opposes the Social Security Act, 1936

by Alf Landon

The U.S. Congress enacted the Social Security Act, originally called the "Economic Security Bill," in August of 1935. The Act was aimed at giving older Americans a pension that would provide them with a reasonable standard of living as they aged. The Social Security Act was politically moderate. The agency created to administer these benefits was to be funded by both employees and their employers, as opposed to using funds collected from general tax money. Still, it represented a milestone in moving this country toward a modern welfare state; as a result of this legislation, the United States joined other industrialized nations in offering old-age pensions and unemployment compensation. Several groups offered a spirited resistance to the program. Alf Landon, the Republican candidate for President in 1936, offered strong opposition to Social Security based on its burden on employers and employees as well as the possibility that the money coming into the Treasury would not be put away for later liabilities.

...Beginning next January employers must, in addition, begin paying taxes on the payrolls out of which your wages are to come. This is the largest tax bill in history. And to call it "social security" is a fraud on the workingman.

These taxes start at the rate of $2 in taxes for every $100 of wages. They increase until it is $6 in taxes for every $100 in wages.

We are told that this $6 will be equally divided between the employer and the employe [sic]. But this is not so, and for a very simple reason. The actual fact will be, in almost every case, that the whole tax will be borne either by the employe [sic] or by the consumer through higher prices. That is the his¬tory of all such taxes. This is because the tax is imposed in such a way that, if the employer is to stay in business, he must shift the tax to some one else.

Do not forget this: such an excessive tax on payrolls is beyond question a tax on employment. In prosperous times it slows down the advance of wages and holds back re-employment. In bad times it increases unemployment, and unemployment breaks wage scales. The Republican party rejects any feature of any plan that hinders re-employment... ...One more sample of the injustice of this law is this: Some workers who come under this new Federal insurance plan are taxed more and get less than workers who come under the State laws already in force.

For instance, under the new law many workers now 50 years old must pay burdensome taxes for the next fifteen years in order to receive a pension when they are 65; whereas those of the same age who come under some State laws- pay no taxes and yet actually get a larger pension when they reach the age of 65.

These are a few reasons why I called this law unjust and stupidly drafted. There is a further important point in connection with the compulsory saving provided by the plan of the present administration. According to this plan, our workers are forced to save for a lifetime. What happens to their savings? The administration's theory is that they go into a reserve fund, that they will be invested at interest, and that in due time this interest will help pay the pensions. The people who drew this law understand nothing of government finance

Let me explain it in another way—in the simple terms of the family budget. The father of the family is a kindly man, so kindly that he borrows all he can to add to the family's pleasure. At the same time he impresses upon his sons and daughters the necessity of saving for their old age.

Every month they bring 6 per cent of their wages to him so that he may act as trustee and invest their savings for their old age. The father decides that the best investment is his own I O U. So every month he puts aside in a box his I O U carefully executed, and, moreover, bearing interest at 3 per cent.

And every month he spends the money that his children bring him, partly in meeting his regular expenses, and the rest in various experiments that fascinate him.

Years pass, the children grow old, the day comes when they have to open their father's box. What do they find? Roll after roll of neatly executed I O U's.

I am not exaggerating the folly of this legislation. The saving it forces on our workers is a cruel hoax.

There is every probability that the cash they pay in will be used for current deficits and new extravagances. We are going to have trouble enough to carry out an economy program without having the Treasury flush with money drawn from the workers

Source: Alfred M. Landon, "I Will Not Promise the Moon," Vital Speeches of the Day (October 15, 1936), 26-27.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
"I Will Not Promise the Moon": Alf Landon Opposes the Social Security Act, 1936

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The U.S. Congress enacted the Social Security Act, originally called the "Economic Security Bill," in August of 1935. The Act was aimed at giving older Americans a pension that would provide them with a reasonable standard of living as they aged. The Social Security Act was politically moderate.

# data[].attributes.headline
‘We need the government’: Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief plan reflects seismic shifts in U.S. politics

# data[].attributes.subject
‘We need the government’: Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief plan reflects seismic shifts in U.S. politics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Biden stimulus shows new era of politics - The Washington Post

# data[].attributes.headline
Firsthand Accounts of the Great Depression

# data[].attributes.subject
Firsthand Accounts of the Great Depression

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Firsthand Accounts of the Great Depression

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Read and listen to firsthand accounts of the shame, humiliation, and deprivation experienced by those who lived through the Great Depression.

# data[].attributes.headline
Here's what's in the Covid relief package

# data[].attributes.subject
Here's what's in the Covid relief package

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
what's in the covid relief bill - cnnpolitics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Here's what's in the Covid relief package

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to approve a $1.9 trillion Covid relief plan, a top legislative priority for President Joe Biden.

# data[].attributes.headline
How Does the Pandemic Recession Stack Up against the Great Depression?

# data[].attributes.subject
How Does the Pandemic Recession Stack Up against the Great Depression?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Many observers have been comparing the COVID-19-induced recession with the Great Depression. An Economic Synopses essay published in August examined some key economic indicators during these contractions to consider their severity and duration.

Group Vice President and Deputy Director of Research David Wheelock explained that the Great Depression was likely the largest and longest slump in economic activity in U.S. history, though records for the18th and 19th centuries are sketchy.

"Comparing the 2020 recession with the Great Depression is also fraught with measurement difficulties, but some rough comparisons based on various measures of economic activity are possible," he wrote.

The Performance of GDP/GNP

The author began by looking at gross domestic product (GDP), a broad measure of economic activity. He noted the severity of the recent economic downturn: Real GDP fell at annual rates of 5% in the first quarter of 2020 and over 30% in the second quarter.

Prior to the U.S. officially starting to measure GDP in 1947, the country had been using another broad measure of economic activity: gross national product (GNP).

To compare economic activity, Wheelock plotted an index of real GDP during the current recession along with forecasts for the remainder of the year and for 2021. He also plotted an index of real GNP for the Great Depression. The index value of 100 represents the business cycle peaks on a quarterly basis for these two periods: the fourth quarter of 2019 and the third quarter of 1929. The figure below is based on data that were available when the essay was published in August.

Looking at these broad measures of economic activity, Wheelock observed that the cumulative decline in the first two quarters of the 2020 recession was somewhat larger than the decline during the first two quarters of the Great Depression. He also pointed out that the drop in economic activity during the second quarter of 2020 was larger than any quarterly decline during the Great Depression.

In the case of the Great Depression, the economy continued to contract for more than three years, the author added.

"By contrast, consensus forecasts predict that the U.S. economy will expand in the second half of 2020 and into 2021 but that output will remain below the 2019 peak for at least several quarters," he wrote.

Other Economic Indicators

Wheelock also looked at other key indicators:

Industrial production

The unemployment rate

The consumer price index

The S&P 500 stock price index

Industrial Production

During 2020, the February-to-April decline in industrial production was the biggest two-month decline in the history of the index, which started in 1919, Wheelock pointed out. The cumulative declines in the index were similar during the first fourth months of the Depression and the 2020 recession.

However, he noted that forecasters expect the index to rise in coming months. This is unlike what happened during the Depression, when the index continued to decline for several more quarters.

Unemployment

During the 2020 recession, the unemployment rate rose from 3.5% in February to nearly 15% in April before declining in the subsequent months, Wheelock pointed out. (The unemployment rate was 7.9% in September.)

During the Great Depression, the rate did not experience such a sharp rise in its early months, but it gradually rose to 25% in 1933 and stayed above 10% throughout the 1930s, the author observed.

Consumer Prices

Consumer prices also fell during the two periods, though the Great Depression saw prolonged deflation. When the economy bottomed out in March 1933, the consumer price index (CPI) was 27% below its August 1929 reading, Wheelock wrote. Though CPI fell in the first two months of the 2020 recession, it has returned to its pre-recession level, and forecasters expect consumer prices to gradually rise.

S&P 500 Stock Price Index

After peaking in October 1929, stock prices fell about 30% during the first three months of the Great Depression, Wheelock noted. By 1932, stock prices were down almost 85% from their August 1929 level.

In comparison, stock prices fell around 20% from February to March 2020. However, he pointed out that by June 2020, stock prices had rebounded to 94% of the February level.

Similarities in Severity but Not in Duration

Wheelock noted that the 2020 recession saw sharp declines in economic activity, employment and stock prices that rivaled or exceeded the initial declines of the Great Depression. However, he pointed out that the Depression persisted, with the economy bottoming out nearly four years later. At the Depression's trough, economic activity, employment and consumer and equity prices were far below their initial levels.

"The 2020 contraction might turn out to be the sharpest, but also the shortest, in modern times and perhaps of all time in the United States," he wrote.

Recent debate has focused on whether the increase in economic activity since May will be maintained or turn out to be an uptick before a second dip, Wheelock observed.

"The virus and the public's response to it will likely make that determination," he concluded.

Notes and References

¹ GNP is a measure of the total finished goods and services produced by U.S. producers, regardless of where production takes place, whereas GDP captures total production within the U.S. and its territories, regardless of the nationality of the producers.

Additional Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How the Pandemic Recession Stacks Up against the Great Depression | St. Louis Fed

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Many observers have been comparing the COVID-19-induced recession with the Great Depression. An Economic Synopses essay published in August examined some key economic indicators during these contractions to consider their severity and duration. Group Vice President and Deputy Director of Research David Wheelock explained that the Great Depression was likely the largest and longest slump in economic activity in U.S.

# data[].attributes.headline
A 'Forgotten History' Of How The U.S. Government Segregated America

# data[].attributes.subject
A 'Forgotten History' Of How The U.S. Government Segregated America

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A ‘Forgotten History’ Of How The U.S. Government Segregated America

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Author Richard Rothstein says the housing programs begun under the New Deal were tantamount to a “state-sponsored system of segregation,” in which people of color were purposely excluded from suburbs.

# data[].attributes.headline
WHAT CAUSES PEOPLE TO CHANGE THEIR POLITICAL IDEALS?

# data[].attributes.subject
WHAT CAUSES PEOPLE TO CHANGE THEIR POLITICAL IDEALS?

# data[].attributes.headline
HOW DID THE NEW DEAL CHANGE THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT?

# data[].attributes.subject
HOW DID THE NEW DEAL CHANGE THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT?

# data[].attributes.headline
WHAT DO CANDIDATES OF THE TWO MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES (Democrat/Republican) VALUE?

# data[].attributes.subject
WHAT DO CANDIDATES OF THE TWO MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES (Democrat/Republican) VALUE?

# data[].attributes.headline
Gallup Vault: Gloomy Outlook During the Great Depression

# data[].attributes.subject
Gallup Vault: Gloomy Outlook During the Great Depression

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ninety years ago this month, the New York Stock Exchange collapsed in an event commonly known as Black Tuesday. The events of Oct. 29, 1929, precipitated the worst economic downturn in U.S. history and a depression that would cloud the nation for a decade.

Gallup was founded in October 1935, right in the middle of the Great Depression, and many of its earliest questions asked Americans about employment, the economy and the government's role in reviving it.

In 1937, few Americans (15%) reported owning stocks or bonds listed on a stock exchange -- a much smaller percentage than is the case today -- perhaps because some were scared off by the events of 1929, but more likely because few Americans had money to invest.

Americans' predictions for the economy were decidedly gloomy in the 1930s. In 1936, two in three Americans (67%) believed that yet another depression was on the horizon, and an even greater 83% believed that poverty would never be "done away with" in the U.S.

Americans Resisted Blaming Presidents

Cities across the country became dotted with shantytowns, where unemployed, evicted and poverty-stricken people built makeshift huts for shelter. The shantytowns became known as "Hoovervilles" -- a dig at former President Herbert Hoover, whose presidency had barely begun when the stock market crash occurred and who received much of the blame from critics.

But most Americans in 1938 resisted labeling the economic crisis with Hoover's name -- two in three Americans said it wasn't fair to call the slump the "Hoover depression." A smaller majority (53%) rejected labeling it as the "Roosevelt recession/depression," as then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal had gone into effect.

Roosevelt is largely credited with stabilizing the U.S. economy with his sprawling New Deal in the 1930s. But reviews of his approach were mixed at the time, as Americans' views on the government's newly enhanced role fluctuated. Six in 10 Americans in 1935 said the government's expenditures for relief and recovery were "too great." Yet in 1937, most Americans (54%) felt the government should repeat Roosevelt's spending policies if another depression struck. That same year, few Americans sought to do away with the Works Program Administration (21%).

Although exactly how the Great Depression ended is debatable, the economy rebounded in the 1940s as the U.S. fought in World War II. But the Depression had left its mark on Americans. In 1944, more than one in four (27%) reported that they or their head of household had struggled to find employment during the Depression -- and the vast majority of these respondents (72%) said they were out of work for a year or longer.
Read more from the Gallup Vault.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Gallup Vault: Gloomy Outlook During the Great Depression

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ninety years ago this month, the New York Stock Exchange collapsed in an event commonly known as Black Tuesday. The events of Oct. 29, 1929, precipitated the worst economic downturn in U.S. history and a depression that would cloud the nation for a decade.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I live on a park bench.
You, Park Avenue.
Hell of a distance
Between us two.

I beg a dime for dinner-
You got a butler and maid.
But I'm wakin' up!
Say, ain't you afraid

That I might, just maybe,
In a year or two,
Move on over
To Park Avenue?

Topic(s) of this poem: poverty

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Park Bench Poem by Langston Hughes - Poem Hunter

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I live on a park bench. You, Park Avenue. Hell of a distance Between us two. I beg a dime for dinner- You got a butler and maid. But I'm wakin' up! Say, ain't you afraid That I might, just maybe, In a year or two, Move on over To Park Avenue?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The United States presidential election of 1936 was the most lopsided presidential election in the history of the United States in terms of electoral votes. In terms of the popular vote, it was the third biggest victory since the election of 1820, which was not seriously contested. The election took place as the Great Depression entered its eighth year. Incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt was still working to push the provisions of his New Deal economic policy through Congress and the courts. However, the New Deal policies he had already enacted, such as Social Security and unemployment benefits, had proven to be highly popular with most Americans. Roosevelt's Republican opponent was Governor Alf Landon of Kansas, a political moderate.

Although some political pundits predicted a close race, Roosevelt went on to win the greatest electoral landslide since the beginning of the current two-party system in the 1850s, carrying all but 8 electoral votes. Roosevelt carried every state except Maine and Vermont.

20th Amendment ratified in this cycle: Inauguration day moves from March 4th to January 20th

Issues of the Day: Great Depression (New Deal), Repeal of Prohibition

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The United States presidential election of 1936 was the most lopsided presidential election in the history of the United States in terms of electoral votes. In terms of the popular vote, it was the third biggest victory since the election of 1820, which was not seriously contested.

# data[].attributes.headline
REIGN OF SOCIALISM FEARED BY TAFT- NYT Times Article 

# data[].attributes.subject
REIGN OF SOCIALISM FEARED BY TAFT- NYT Times Article 

# data[].attributes.headline
Hispanic and Black Americans bear the brunt of pandemic's financial impact 

# data[].attributes.subject
Hispanic and Black Americans bear the brunt of pandemic's financial impact 

# data[].attributes.headline
Waitin’ on Roosevelt”: Langston Hughes’s “Ballad of Roosevelt”

# data[].attributes.subject
Waitin’ on Roosevelt”: Langston Hughes’s “Ballad of Roosevelt”

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"Waitin' on Roosevelt": Langston Hughes's "Ballad of Roosevelt"

The relationship between African Americans and Franklin D. Roosevelt presents something of a paradox. On the one hand, Roosevelt never endorsed anti-lynching legislation; he accepted segregation and disenfranchisement; and he condoned discrimination against blacks in federally funded relief programs. On the other hand, Roosevelt won the hearts and the votes of African Americans in unprecedented numbers. African Americans who supported left-wing parties, however, were more likely to be critical. Langston Hughes, a playwright, poet, and novelist, became a socialist in the 1930s. Although he did not join the Communist Party, he spent a year in the Soviet Union and published his works in magazines sympathetic to liberal, socialist, and Communist causes. In Hughes's "Ballad of Roosevelt," which appeared in the New Republic in 1934, the poet criticized the unfulfilled promises that FDR had made to the poor. Hughes's style in this poem showed his distinctive merging of traditional verse with black artistic forms like blues and jazz.

Ballad of Roosevelt

The pot was empty,

The cupboard was bare.

I said, Papa,

What's the matter here?

I'm waitin' on Roosevelt, son,

Roosevelt, Roosevelt,

Waitin' on Roosevelt, son.

The rent was due,

And the lights was out.

I said, Tell me, Mama,

What's it all about?

We're waitin' on Roosevelt, son,

Roosevelt, Roosevelt,

Just waitin' on Roosevelt.

Sister got sick

And the doctor wouldn't come

Cause we couldn't pay him

The proper sum-

A-waitin on Roosevelt,

Roosevelt, Roosevelt,

A-waitin' on Roosevelt.

Then one day

They put us out o' the house.

Ma and Pa was Meek as a mouse

Still waitin' on Roosevelt,

Roosevelt, Roosevelt.

But when they felt those

Cold winds blow

And didn't have no

Place to go

Pa said, I'm tired

O'waitin' on Roosevelt,

Roosevelt, Roosevelt.

Damn tired o' waitin' on Roosevelt.

I can't git a job

And I can't git no grub.

Backbone and navel's

Doin' the belly-rub-

A-waitin' on Roosevelt,

Roosevelt, Roosevelt.

And a lot o' other folks

What's hungry and cold

Done stopped believin'

What they been told

By Roosevelt,

Roosevelt, Roosevelt-

Cause the pot's still empty,

And the cupboard's still bare,

And you can't build a

bungalow

Out o' air-

Mr. Roosevelt, listen!

What's the matter here?

Source: Langston Hughes, "Ballad of Roosevelt," New Republic 31 (November 14, 1934): 9.

See Also:"Gonna Miss President Roosevelt": The Blues for FDR

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
"Waitin' on Roosevelt": Langston Hughes's "Ballad of Roosevelt"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The relationship between African Americans and Franklin D. Roosevelt presents something of a paradox. On the one hand, Roosevelt never endorsed anti-lynching legislation; he accepted segregation and disenfranchisement; and he condoned discrimination against blacks in federally funded relief programs. On the other hand, Roosevelt won the hearts and the votes of African Americans in unprecedented numbers.

# data[].attributes.headline
Clinton says era of big government is 'over' in 1996 State of the Union

# data[].attributes.subject
Clinton says era of big government is 'over' in 1996 State of the Union

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Clinton says era of big government is 'over' in 1996 State of the Union

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In his 1996 State of the Union, President Bill Clinton says the era of big government is 'over.'

# data[].attributes.headline
How Joe Biden Is Positioning Himself as a Modern FDR

# data[].attributes.subject
How Joe Biden Is Positioning Himself as a Modern FDR

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
FDR Second Bill of Rights Speech Footage

# data[].attributes.headline
Here’s what mattered most to voters in the 2020 election, according to exit polls

# data[].attributes.subject
Here’s what mattered most to voters in the 2020 election, according to exit polls

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The economy, the coronavirus pandemic and racial injustice have emerged as top issues for voters in the 2020 presidential election, according to NBC News exit polls.

According to early results from the NBC News survey of early and Election Day voters, about a third of respondents identified the economy as the most decisive issue in how they voted for president. Racial inequality was the top issue for 21% of surveyed voters, and 18% said the Covid-19 crisis mattered most in their decision.

When asked about the tradeoff between containing the coronavirus and rebuilding the economy, 52% of voters said controlling the pandemic, even if it hurts the economy, was more important.

Responses aligned closely with voters' choices in the presidential election. Voters for President Donald Trump were more likely to point to the economy and crime and safety as important issues, while voters for Democratic challenger Joe Biden were more likely to identify the coronavirus pandemic and racial injustice.

In their final messages to voters, Trump strayed from the economic populism that fueled his 2016 victory, while Biden centered on the coronavirus pandemic. Biden has repeatedly criticized the president for his handling of the Covid-19 crisis, which has claimed more than 230,000 American lives this year and is surging across the country.

While Trump and Biden have often framed the election as a choice regarding character, 72% of voters said a candidate's issue positions were more important than their personal qualities, NBC News exit polls found.

As polls begin to close across the country and states begin to tally ballots, results released tonight and in the coming days will show how these issues translated into votes for president.

Subscribe to CNBC PRO for access to the livestream of CNBC's continuous election and business news coverage.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Here's what mattered most to voters in the 2020 election, according to exit polls

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The economy, the coronavirus pandemic and racial injustice have emerged as top issues for voters in the 2020 presidential election, according to NBC News exit polls. According to early results from the NBC News survey of early and Election Day voters, about a third of respondents identified the economy as the most decisive issue in how they voted for president.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
On August 9, 1974, after a Senate investigation revealed his direct involvement in the cover-up of the Watergate break-in, Richard Nixon became the first president in American history to resign from office. Nixon was succeeded by Gerald Ford, who had been appointed vice president after a bribery scandal forced Spiro Agnew's resignation in October 1973. These scandals and the televised Watergate hearings, which resulted in the conviction and imprisonment of 25 Nixon administration officials, shattered the public's trust in the government. In a 1974 poll, 43 percent of respondents said that they had "hardly any" faith in the executive branch. As a result, the 1976 election was dominated by issues of integrity and character. Hoping to put the Watergate affair to rest, President Ford unconditionally pardoned Nixon in September 1974, but the move hurt Ford's political standing. Ford won the Republican nomination only after fighting off a strong challenge from Ronald Reagan.

The Democrats nominated Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, a former naval officer and peanut farmer. Carter, who promised, "I will never tell a lie to the American people," ran a brilliant campaign as an outsider, offering a fresh change from Washington politics as usual.
"Leadership for a Change"
Jimmy Carter was campaigning to become the first president from the Deep South since 1849. His ads, created by Atlanta advertising executive Gerald Rafshoon, skillfully made use of his heritage. They portrayed him as honest, hardworking, untainted by Washington politics, and almost mythically connected to America's agricultural past--a non-lawyer who knew the value of manual labor. His campaign is best summarized by the five-minute biographical spot that shows him in work clothes walking through a peanut field, and includes interviews with his colorful family.

Yet establishing a farming background was not enough to qualify a candidate for the presidency. As the campaign progressed, Carter was made to look more and more presidential. Having emphasized his southern roots in his early ads, Carter appeared in a series of spots, produced late in the campaign, in a formal indoor setting wearing a suit and tie.
"He's Making Us Proud Again"
As a candidate, President Ford was in the unenviable position of being the incumbent at a time when Americans had lost their faith in the presidency. Not surprisingly, Ford's ads pictured him as a different kind of leader from Richard Nixon. They consistently portrayed him as a regular guy and a nonimperial president. Spots filmed inside the White House showed him dressed casually, with an open collar and no tie. They also claimed that Ford was responsible for turning the country around and leading it out of the Watergate nightmare.

With the Vietnam war over, inflation beginning to ease, and the country in its bicentennial year, the Ford campaign produced a series of ads showing a montage of happy Americans accompanied by an upbeat song featuring the lyrics, "I'm feeling good about America, I'm feeling good about me."

Largely because of his pardon of Nixon, Ford found himself trailing in the polls through much of the campaign. As a result, the Republicans ran ads that capitalized on voters' doubts about the relatively unknown Jimmy Carter. In one series of man-in-the-street ads filmed in Atlanta, the Georgia voters who were presumably most familiar with Carter criticized his record as governor. Carter would use the same technique during his 1980 campaign against former California Governor Ronald Reagan.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Living Room Candidate - Commercials - 1976 - South

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On August 9, 1974, after a Senate investigation revealed his direct involvement in the cover-up of the Watergate break-in, Richard Nixon became the first president in American history to resign from office. Nixon was succeeded by Gerald Ford, who had been appointed vice president after a bribery scandal forced Spiro Agnew's resignation in October 1973.

# data[].attributes.headline
Ed Markey (Senator-MASS) 2020 Campaign Ad

# data[].attributes.subject
Ed Markey (Senator-MASS) 2020 Campaign Ad

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In 1971, President Nixon's approval rating fell below 50 percent. Despite his 1968 promises to end the Vietnam War, the conflict was dragging on. At home, inflation and unemployment were rising. Nixon restored his popularity through several actions: he took unprecedented diplomatic trips to China and Russia; stepped up efforts to end the war by ordering the bombing of Hanoi; instituted wage and price controls; and ended the draft, partly because of the recent lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18. Nixon's opponent, South Dakota Senator George McGovern, who won his party's nomination with a grassroots campaign sparked by the antiwar movement, called for withdrawal from Vietnam and a significant reduction in military spending. McGovern named as his running mate Missouri Senator Thomas Eagleton, who, shortly after the convention, revealed that he had been hospitalized for depression and had received shock therapy. McGovern dropped him from the ticket and replaced him with former ambassador R. Sargent Shriver. The incident created an impression of ineptitude. McGovern was also unable to convince the public of any connection between the Nixon administration and the June break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate apartment complex.
"President Nixon. Now More Than Ever"
No incumbent president has used television advertising more effectively than Richard Nixon in 1972. His ad campaign was a two-pronged attack depicting Nixon as a successful world leader and McGovern as a reckless liberal. Nixon's positive ads used documentary techniques to give voters a glimpse inside the White House, with scenes of Nixon at state dinners, in meetings with world leaders, and at work in the Oval Office. The documentary style gave the spots a feeling of intimacy and authenticity, and created the impression that voters were getting a privileged view. The ads also attempted to humanize Nixon, who was widely perceived as cold and humorless, by showing him in relaxed moments playing the piano for Duke Ellington, dancing with his daughter at her wedding, and joking with Chinese translators.

Nixon's most effective commercials, however, were attack ads. One spot ridiculed McGovern's proposed defense cuts by using the stark image of a hand sweeping away toy soldiers, planes, and warships. Another claimed that McGovern would put 47 percent of the country on welfare. Though created by the Republican campaign, these ads were credited to "Democrats for Nixon," a strategy meant to create the impression that McGovern's liberal views put him outside the mainstream of his own party.

Nixon's ads were produced by the November Group, a virtual all-star team of advertising executives headed by Peter Dailey, who ran his own Los Angeles agency, Phil Joanou from Doyle Dane Bernbach, William Taylor from Ogilvy and Mather, and an advisory board of executives from many top agencies.
"McGovern. Democrat. For the People"
The style of McGovern's ads reflected the populist nature of his campaign. The candidate was filmed in informal encounters with voters in factories, meeting halls, hospitals, and senior-citizen centers. The spots were produced by Charles Guggenheim, the documentary filmmaker who had made many of Adlai Stevenson's ads in 1956. In his commercials for McGovern, Guggenheim used cinéma vérité techniques. Photographed with a handheld camera and portable sound equipment, the ads were designed to look casual and spontaneous in deliberate contrast with the stately aura surrounding Nixon's presidency. The ads succeeded in portraying McGovern as compassionate, but they did not make him look presidential.

McGovern had wanted to avoid negative ads, but he changed his mind late in the campaign in reaction to his poor standing in the polls. The attack ads against Nixon were delivered with a "crawl" of white text against a black background. This stark presentation of claims in a seemingly neutral style is now a common technique in political and product advertising.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Living Room Candidate - Commercials - 1972 - McGovern Welfare

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In 1971, President Nixon's approval rating fell below 50 percent. Despite his 1968 promises to end the Vietnam War, the conflict was dragging on. At home, inflation and unemployment were rising.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Former Vice President Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. Due to COVID-19 and the influx of mail voting across the country, it took more time to process the final results and project winners in Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. While President Trump has alleged unsubstantiated charges of voter fraud and pursued legal challenges to the election results, courts have found no evidence and have dismissed these cases.

The 2020 election took place following a year of political, public health, economic, and social crises. On December 18, 2019, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald J. Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in relation to his dealings with Ukraine. On February 5, 2020, the Senate voted to acquit him on both charges.

The central campaign issue was the coronavirus pandemic, which hit the United States in early March. On March 13, President Trump declared a national emergency, but left decisions about shutdowns of business operations and stay-at-home directives up to the states. By March 26, the United States had the most confirmed cases in the world, and as of September 1, the United States led the world with over 6 million cases and more than 180,000 COVID-19 deaths. A major economic crash soon followed, and by April nearly 10 million Americans were unemployed, with cases and death rates increasing daily. The Biden campaign pointed to the escalation of COVID-19, the lack of a coordinated testing system as evidence, and the frequent presidential disregard for public health recommendations as evidence that Trump failed Americans. Republicans have argued that actions like the bipartisan stimulus plan that President Trump signed into law showed evidence of presidential leadership. Both sides took different public health approaches on the campaign trail as well. The Biden team featured drive-in rallies and promoted mask wearing to adhere to Center for Disease Control guidelines. Despite having contracted COVID-19 after the first presidential debate, President Trump organized rallies across battleground states featuring packed crowds without masks.

The other major issue of the campaign was the growing movement for racial justice. A series of police shootings against unarmed people of color, notably Breonna Taylor in March and George Floyd in May, inspired millions of Americans to join demonstrations for Black Lives Matter across the country to demand an end to police brutality and racial inequality in healthcare, education, housing, and historical commemorations. The Democratic Party made racial justice and criminal justice reform a central issue, lending support to peaceful protesters across the country. In contrast, Donald Trump vilified protesters as a threat to law and order and warned voters about the dangers of a potential "left-wing Democratic takeover" under a Biden administration.
"Build Back Better."
Joseph R. Biden Jr. (b. 1942) was the 47th Vice President of the United States serving under President Barack Obama from 2009-2017. He previously had served as a U.S. Senator representing Delaware for thirty-six years. He has selected Kamala D. Harris as his nominee for Vice President. A lawyer and the current junior U.S. Senator from California, Harris is the first woman of color to secure a VP nomination on a major party ticket. The campaign has emphasized Biden's character and years of public service, especially during the Obama administration, making the argument that Biden would serve as a transformative figure following the divisive Trump era. In his video announcing his presidential run, he declared, "If we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation, who we are, and I cannot stand by and watch that happen."
"Keep America Great."
Donald J. Trump (b. 1946) is the 45th President of the United States, and he ran for a second term with his current Vice President, Mike Pence, the former governor of Indiana. The presidency of the former real-estate developer and reality television star has been characterized by divisive rhetoric, unconventional use of social media, and frequent promotion of misinformation. He is the third President in history to be impeached by the House of Representatives and acquitted in the Senate. His reelection campaign has centered on celebrating the state of the economy before the economic crash in the spring of 2020, and invoking "law and order" to quell the ongoing protests for racial equality.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Living Room Candidate - Commercials - 2020 - Sacred

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Former Vice President Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. Due to COVID-19 and the influx of mail voting across the country, it took more time to process the final results and project winners in Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Living Room Candidate - Commercials - 1984 - Reaganomics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In 1984, the economy was in an upswing. Oil prices were low, interest rates were high, and the lurking problem of the mounting federal deficit caused little public concern. The popular President Reagan was earning the label "the Teflon president" for his ability to escape unscathed from setbacks.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
President Obama won reelection in 2012 despite weak economic conditions. The economic collapse of 2008 resulted in soaring unemployment rates that have been as high as 10%, and remained at more than 8% through most of 2012; this is the highest unemployment rate since the 1982 recession. The state of the U.S. economy was the dominant issues, with Barack Obama's campaign arguing that the president has taken action to rescue the economy and turn it in the right direction, and Mitt Romney's campaign arguing that the recovery isn't happening quickly enough. In an election year marked by a troubled economy and low public approval of the government, it was not surprising that the tenor of the ad campaign was extremely negative. With total spending by the official campaigns and outside "Super PAC" groups expected to reach more than one billion dollars, there has been a deluge of negative ads. Well more than 75% of all presidential campaign ads in 2012 were negative.

The Obama campaign spent most of its advertising money trying to define Republican challenger Mitt Romney as a callous multi-millionaire whose policies favor the wealthy over the middle class. While the campaign has produced positive ads touting the president's successes, this was clearly not a "Morning in America" re-election campaign; the focus was primarily on attacking the challenger.

The Romney campaign tried to define the Obama presidency as a failure, citing high unemployment, rising deficits, and higher gas prices. It tried to capitalize on the comment "you didn't build that" by President Obama, made during a speech, attempting to portray the president as favoring big government over private enterprise. This line of attack didn't make much of a dent in Obama's popularity, its impact weakened by the wide circulation of a video recording of Romney saying that he didn't care about 47% of the population, who were destined to vote for Obama.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Living Room Candidate - Commercials - 2012 - Cameras

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
President Obama won reelection in 2012 despite weak economic conditions. The economic collapse of 2008 resulted in soaring unemployment rates that have been as high as 10%, and remained at more than 8% through most of 2012; this is the highest unemployment rate since the 1982 recession. The state of the U.S.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Donald J. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton to win the 2016 U.S. election on Tuesday, November 8, by a margin of 306 electoral votes to 232. The Republican nominee, and victor, Donald J. Trump, Chairman of the Trump Organization, is a real estate developer and television personality. The Democratic Party nominee, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is a former U.S. Senator from New York, who also served as Secretary of State and First Lady. Other candidates included the Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico, and Green Party nominee Jill Stein, a physician and activist. Hillary Clinton won the nationwide popular vote by nearly three million votes, receiving 65,844,610 votes to 62,979,636 for Trump.
"Make America Great Again."
Donald J. Trump (b. 1946) is a well-known businessman and television personality. He has never held government office or served in the military. He will be the first such candidate to ever serve as President. Announcing his candidacy in June 2015, he said "Our country is in terrible trouble. We don't have victories any more," and he promised to "build a great, great wall on our Southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for it." Trump has run an unconventional campaign, relying on frequent coverage on television and a personal use of social media.
"We Are Stronger Together."
Hillary Rodham Clinton (b. 1947) was the first lady during the presidency of her husband, Bill Clinton (1993-2001). She has served as U.S. Senator from New York State (2001-2009) and as Secretary of State to President Barack Obama (2000-2013). In April 2015, she became the first candidate to announce her run for the presidency in the 2016 election. During the video message declaring her candidacy, she used a traditional Democratic Party theme, "Everyday Americans need a champion. And I want to be that champion."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Living Room Candidate - Commercials - 2016 - Donald Trump's Argument for America

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Donald J. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton to win the 2016 U.S. election on Tuesday, November 8, by a margin of 306 electoral votes to 232. The Republican nominee, and victor, Donald J. Trump, Chairman of the Trump Organization, is a real estate developer and television personality.

# data[].attributes.headline
Support for Third U.S. Political Party at High Point

# data[].attributes.subject
Support for Third U.S. Political Party at High Point

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Story Highlights

62% say a third party is needed, up from 57% in September

Highest support for a third party by one percentage point

A record-high 63% of Republicans favor a third party

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' desire for a third party has ticked up since last fall and now sits at a high in Gallup's trend. Sixty-two percent of U.S. adults say the "parties do such a poor job representing the American people that a third party is needed," an increase from 57% in September. Support for a third party has been elevated in recent years, including readings of 60% in 2013 and 2015 and 61% in 2017.

Meanwhile, 33% of Americans believe the two major political parties are doing an adequate job representing the public, the smallest percentage expressing this view apart from the 26% reading in October 2013.

Line graph. Sixty-two percent of Americans say a third political party is needed in the U.S., up from 57% in September and the highest, by one point, in Gallup's trend. Americans have typically been more likely to believe a third party is needed than to say it is not.

The latest results are from a Jan. 21-Feb. 2 poll. The survey was conducted before recent news reports that dozens of government officials in prior Republican administrations were in discussions to form an anti-Donald Trump third political party.

The survey found Americans' favorable opinion of the Republican Party has declined to 37%, while 48% view the Democratic Party positively. The poll also shows 50% of U.S. adults identifying as political independents, the highest percentage Gallup has ever measured in a single poll.

Gallup first asked about the need for a third party in 2003. At that time, most Americans did not think it was necessary, with 56% saying the parties were doing an adequate job representing the American people and 40% saying a third party was needed.

In several election years -- 2006, 2008 and 2012 -- Americans were divided as to whether a third party was needed, but since 2012, Americans have consistently favored the idea.

Majority of Republicans Now Favor Third Party

Independents are usually much more likely than Republicans or Democrats to favor a third political party, but in the current poll, Republicans are nearly as likely as independents to hold this view, 63% to 70%. That represents a dramatic shift for Republicans since last September when 40% favored a third party.

Republicans' current level of support for a third party is also the highest Gallup has measured for Republicans or Democrats in Gallup's trend. The previous high was 54% for Democrats in 2018. Currently, 46% of Democrats endorse a third party, down from 52% in September.

Line graph. Support for a third party by political party identification. Currently, 70% of independents, 63% of Republicans and 46% of Democrats say a third party is needed. Independents are always more likely than Republicans or independents to favor a third party. The current gap between Republicans and independents is the smallest measured to date.

Republicans' record desire for a third party comes at a time when they are deciding whether to remain loyal to Trump or to move on from him.

Currently, 68% of Republicans prefer that Trump remain the party leader, while 31% want the party to have a new leader. Republican-leaning independents, however, are divided, with 47% wanting Trump to continue leading and 51% preferring a new voice.

Republicans' preferences for a third party are similar among those who want Trump to continue to lead the party and among those who prefer a new leader.

An analysis that takes into account preference for a third party -- and preference of Trump leading the party -- finds that 41% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents both favor a third party and want Trump to be the leader of the GOP. Meanwhile, 28% favor a third party but want a new leader for the GOP. The remaining 31% of Republicans and Republican-leaners either don't want a third party or don't have a preference on Trump's future role in party politics.

More Republicans Want the Party to Move to the Right Than to the Center

The survey asked Republicans and Republican-leaning independents what direction they would like to see the party move in the future. A 40% plurality want the party to become more conservative, while 34% want it to stay the same and 24% to become more moderate. While Republican identifiers are about twice as likely to say the party should become more conservative than moderate (44% to 21%), Republican-leaning independents are split, with 36% wanting it to move further to the right of the ideological spectrum and 30% to move toward the center.

[Asked of Republicans and Republican-leaning independnets] If you had to choose, would you rather see the Republican Party - [ROTATED: become more conservative, stay the same, (or) become more moderate]?

Democrats Divided on the Direction of Their Party

Democrats' internal divisions between its moderate and liberal wings appear to be muted for now, following the party's victory in the presidential election and its regaining a Senate majority while maintaining a House majority. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are evenly divided on the direction their party should go -- 34% want it to become more liberal, 34% more moderate, and 31% to stay where it is.

Democratic identifiers tilt more toward wanting the party to go in a liberal direction (34%) than a moderate one (25%), while Democratic-leaning independents tilt toward wanting the party to become more moderate, 42% to 35%.

[Asked of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents] If you had to choose, would you rather see the Democratic Party -[ROTATED: become more liberal, stay the same, (or) become more moderate]?

Bottom Line

Americans' appetite for a third party has never been greater in Gallup's nearly two decades of polling on the subject, and now a majority of Republicans are joining the usual majority of independents in wanting that option. The GOP is struggling to find its way in the post-Trump world, but party leaders hope it can unite in time to make gains in the 2022 elections. The possibility still exists that a pro-Trump or anti-Trump third party will splinter off from the Republican Party before then. However, that is something that party leaders like Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy are trying to prevent.
View complete question responses and trends (PDF download). Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Support for Third U.S. Political Party at High Point

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Story Highlights 62% say a third party is needed, up from 57% in September Highest support for a third party by one percentage point A record-high 63% of Republicans favor a third party WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' desire for a third party has ticked up since last fall and now sits at a high in Gallup's trend.

# data[].attributes.headline
Americans Support Massive Stimulus Spending

# data[].attributes.subject
Americans Support Massive Stimulus Spending

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Americans strongly approve of the idea of pumping even more government stimulus money into the U.S. economy. There is little indication that Americans are unduly worried about the impact of this unprecedented spending on the federal budget deficit.

The current stimulus plan working its way through Congress is the latest in a sequence of government efforts designed to mitigate the pandemic's economic consequences on Americans and the nation's small businesses. Several stimulus plans totaling trillions of dollars were signed into law last March as the coronavirus began to hammer the U.S. economy. These included the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act; the Families First Coronavirus Response Act; and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. President Donald Trump then signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act into law on Dec. 27, authorizing another $900 billion in stimulus checks and other relief measures.

Pew Research polling from last April showed that the CARES Act was widely approved by Americans, as was the case with the $800 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed in 2009 in the midst of the Great Recession. (As I wrote in an analysis in February 2009, "President Barack Obama signed the new $787 billion stimulus bill into law today in Denver with the general support of a majority of the American public.")

This history lends itself to an expectation of the same type of strong support for the current plan proposed by the Biden administration -- a plan that will cost up to $1.9 trillion and send $1,400 checks to large numbers of Americans. This, in fact, is what we find: All studies I have reviewed show strong majority support for the idea.

The most recent study, a Quinnipiac University poll, shows 68% of Americans supporting a "$1.9 trillion stimulus relief bill in response to the coronavirus pandemic," with 78% supporting the idea of $1,400 stimulus payments to Americans. Other polls in January and early February conducted by Pew Research and CBS News found even higher levels of support. Going back a bit further, a Franklin Templeton-Gallup study conducted in August found seven in 10 Americans saying they approved of the idea of "another one-time economic impact payment to all qualified adults (a direct payment to all qualified U.S. adults based on income level)."

The Deficit Not a Major Concern at This Point

All of this spending on stimulus plans will continue to increase the federal budget deficit, now the largest in history in absolute dollars (over $3 trillion) and the largest as a percentage of GDP since World War II. Some Republican leaders are beginning to push back on these huge deficits, even though the deficit underwent substantial increases under Republican President Donald Trump. But I do not see great immediate concern about the nation's negative balance sheet from the average American. Just 1% of Americans mentioned the federal debt or the federal budget deficit as the most important problem facing the U.S. in Gallup's latest January update, similar to the very low level of mentions that have been the case throughout the pandemic months.

Pew Research last summer found a drop in the percentage of Americans who said the federal budget deficit is a "very big problem" and neatly encapsulated the findings with this headline: "The U.S. budget deficit is rising amid COVID-19, but public concern about it is falling."

Pew Research also last month found that less than half of Americans say reducing the federal deficit should be a top priority for Congress and the president, in the bottom half among all of the 19 priorities tested. Notably, Pew found nearly twice as many Americans, 80%, saying that strengthening the economy should be a top priority, which of course is the aim of the stimulus legislation. Last fall, Gallup found the deficit was near the bottom of a list of issues the American public thought the presidential candidates should address. Gallup's "worry" update from a March 2-13, 2020, poll -- just as the coronavirus was coming into view as a devastating medical emergency -- showed that 44% of Americans worried a great deal about federal spending and the budget deficit, the lowest since Gallup began tracking this in 2011 when such worry was at 64%.

There have been times in Gallup's polling history when the deficit was considered the No. 1 problem facing the nation -- in July 1990 (21%) and in October 1990 (16%), a year when the deficit reached a near record (at the time, $220 billion), and again in January 1996 (28%), the latter being the highest percentage of mentions of the deficit as the top problem in Gallup's history. And reviews of polls conducted before the pandemic find Americans at that time did express concern about the deficit when asked about it directly. But, at this point in history, the deficit does not appear to be a top priority for the American public.

Desperate Times

Desperate times call for desperate measures, so it is said, and that sentiment has clearly been on the minds of government leaders who have passed trillions of dollars' worth of stimulus legislation since the pandemic began and who are poised to pass more such legislation in the next few weeks. To date, we find consistent evidence of majority support for these efforts from the American public, just as we did when similar stimulus plans were enacted during the Great Recession.

All of this government spending is increasing federal debt and the federal budget deficit to record-high levels. Americans have (seemingly realistic) low expectations that President Joe Biden will be able to substantially reduce the federal budget -- putting this possibility at the bottom of a list of 15 different potential Biden accomplishments that Gallup recently tested. But, and this is the key point, there is little evidence this matters to Americans. Plus, we know that congressional job approval rose after the passage of the March round of stimulus legislation, and congressional approval rose again in January after the passage of the December stimulus package. These upticks suggest that Americans are giving Congress credit for its spending, rather than dinging it for it (although with so much going on in the halls of Congress, it is impossible to establish direct causality).

All in all, it's clear that given a choice, Americans support stimulus spending even at the cost of not getting the national debt under control (indeed, that's what was found by a recent online panel survey conducted by Vox and the progressive think tank Data for Progress). The price tag of major government initiatives seems less important than these initiatives' potentially positive impact on Americans' lives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Americans Support Massive Stimulus Spending

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Americans strongly approve of the idea of pumping even more government stimulus money into the U.S. economy. There is little indication that Americans are unduly worried about the impact of this unprecedented spending on the federal budget deficit.