The Way We Were in 2016

The following is a miscellany of poll results from a number of polling agencies. The polling agency is shown first, followed by the results.

1.) Public Religion Research Institute - 74% say the country is headed in the wrong direction and 50% think the nation's best days have passed.

2.) Gallup - 77% say Americans are greatly divided when it comes to the most important values.

3.) Monmouth - 70% say the election brought out the worst in people and 7% lost or terminated a friendship because of political arguments.

4.) Harris - 82% say the people running the country don't care about ordinary Americans.

5.) Gallup - 76% have an unfavorable opinion of Congress and 47% of the Supreme Court.

6.) Quinnipiac - 55% say Obama was a "good" or "great" president. Only 21% say he helped their personal financial situation and 33% say he hurt their finances.

7.) Huff Post/YouGov - 67% say the tax system favors the wealthy and 39% say Uncle Sam takes too much from their paycheck.

8.) Public Religion Research Institute - 62% support same-sex marriage and 72% favor laws protecting lesbian, gay and transgender people.

9.) Gallup - 60% think marijuana should be legalized.

10.) The Washington Post/ABC News - 63% believe race relations in the U.S. are in bad shape. 55% think things are only going to get worse.

11.) Fox News - 80% fear that terrorists will soon launch a major attack on U.S. soil. 39% fear the government will try to take away their guns and ammunition.

12.) Survey Monkey - 22% of Trump supporters believe Trump will drop a nuclear bomb.

13.) Gallup - A record 28% of American adults are now obese and another 36% are overweight.

I will comment on a few of the items above.
3.) The fact that 70% believe the election brought out the worst in people suggests a strong negative judgment about Trump voters.

5.) The 70% who have an unfavorable opinion of Congress is belied by the fact that almost all incumbent Congress persons are returned to office.

7.) 67% say the federal income tax favors the wealthy, but Donald Trump, whose tax plan is enormously oriented to the wealthy, was elected president.

10.) A 2010 poll taken in 2010 found 30% believing there was a race relations problem in the United States. The same poll taken in 2015 found 60% believing the same. When the same poll was taken in the first quarter of 2016, after there had been a series of police fatal shootings, 63% believed the same. There has been such a great increase in videos and accounts of police shootings of unarmed blacks and the excessive use of force, that it is reasonable to blame law enforcement as the main driver of the deterioration in race relations.

11.) The 39% who believe that the government will take away their guns and ammunition reveals the wide spread of  paranoia in the nation.

12.) It is a matter of grave concern that slightly more than one-fifth of Trump supporters believe he will drop a nuclear bomb.