America's Struggle Within, a report by The Harwood Group, was commissioned by the Pew Center for Civic Journalism at the outset of the 1996 presidential cycle in order to establish a reference point for journalists covering the campaign. It is an effort to learn what is on the public's mind, what its hopes are, what problems they face, what they think of the political process and of the news media that will report that process.
The voice of ordinary citizens has too often been missing from political campaign coverage. In recent years a cynical culture of big money, attack ads, personal criticism and a reluctance to engage the public on real issues has contributed to a turning away from politics by many citizens. Sadly, some scholarly research has concluded that thirty-second television ads, the HIV virus of American democracy, have become an important source of information for many voters.
Too often the news media, whose proper role is as the paladins of the people, have covered politics as an insider's game. Who's up? Who's down? What's the latest gossip? Who made that clever attack ad? These are all fascinating questions to the political community but not to ordinary citizens who are trying to decide whom to vote for and have limited time to devote to finding the answer.
Our strategy in inviting The Harwood Group to undertake this research was to ask citizens of four states key to the primary selection process Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida, and California what civic concerns are central to their lives.
While there is no claim that the voters whose views you will read in the following pages represent all citizens, it may be said that there are themes here that will be sounded throughout the campaign. Fear of the future and a concern about vanishing values an ill- defined word come through as the most important.
You will hear frustration in these voices, frustration that America seems headed for a two-class society the very rich and a middle class whose standard of living seems to be declining. You will hear voices recalling a time when there was a stronger sense of community. And you will hear people longing for a strong, clear journalistic role in the campaign, a role that helps people find the information they need to know in order to make an informed choice.
Taken together with the
scores of snapshot polls that are making their way into print and onto the
air, this report, we hope, will help the news media better understand what
Americans are concerned about and thus what the real issues of the
campaign are.
Ed Fouhy
November 1995
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