It was based on a random sample of 927 adults nationwide. Overall, it had a margin of error of about plus or minus 3 percentage points. The poll results suggest widespread frustration and pessimism toward public officials, and a willingness among many to toss out the system itself. Seventy-nine percent of respondents said they believe public officials advocate what is popular over what is right, and only 14 percent said they trust public officials to do what is right most of the time. One-third thought the American political system would get worse in the future.
Voters are so frustrated that they're willing to consider a new approach to governing.
That's good news for candidates perceived as outsiders and bad news for well-established politicians. Sixty percent said that so far the Republicans have not brought about a fundamental change in public policy, while 32 percent felt they had. The sense that Republicans have failed to bring about fundamental change in Washington may explain why only 53 percent said it mattered to them which party controls the U.S. Congress after the 1996 election, while 71 percent said it mattered to them who wins the 1996 presidential race. The survey also captured the increasing mobility and decreasing civic involvement of many Americans. Forty-one percent of respondents had moved at least once in the last five years, with 9 percent moving three or more times.