American Politics Today - Essentials (3rd Ed)

CHARACTERISTICS OF AMERICAN PUBLIC OPINION | 143

list below summarizes opinion data on some of these issues. Certain issues carry
signifi cant levels of confl ict; others involve much less.

¾ Iraq and Afghanistan: Public opinion on both confl icts has changed

profoundly since U.S. troops invaded those countries in 2003 and 2001,

respectively. There has been a move from strong support initially to less

support by 2008.

¾ Economic conditions: Throughout 2006 and 2007 the economy ranked a

distant second to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, by 2008 a

collapse in housing prices and the near meltdown of the global fi nancial

system led many Americans to revise their opinions about the most impor-

tant economic problems facing the country.

¾ Health care: In surveys from 2008 and 2009, many Americans worried

about losing health coverage and complained about its high cost. But

there was no strong support for reforms to America’s health care system.

Respondents might have thought that the reform proposals included other

provisions, such as “death panels,” or would cause other problems, such as

increased health care costs.

¾ Immigration: There is broad consensus for specifi c reforms. In a

recent  survey most respondents favored allowing illegal immigrants to

become citizens after several years. The government’s failure to

1952

45

50

55

60

Support for new government programs

65

70

75%

1956 1960

Great Society and expansion

of federal government

Election of Ronald Reagan;

Republicans take control of Senate

Democrats take control

of Congress in 2006

Barack Obama

elected in 2008

1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 20042008 2012

Source: James Stimson, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, http://www.unc.edu/~jstimson (accessed 11/13/12).

POLICY MOOD

As the labels in the fi gure indicate, sharp changes in the policy mood often precede
changes in the composition of Congress or the party that holds the presidency.
Could you have used the recent policy mood data to predict the outcomes of the 2012
presidential and congressional elections?

FIGURE » 5.4