WASHINGTON — Every parent has told a child seeking permission for an overnight visit to a friend’s house or the use of the family car, "Trust is something that must be earned. You have to show me you’re trustworthy."
When the latest Washington Post poll reported a remarkable surge in public trust of government in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the natural question was: What has the government done to earn it?
The numbers are quite startling. In the survey, 64 percent said they trusted the government to do what is right most of the time or virtually always. That is more than double the percentage expressing such confidence on an identical question asked in the spring of 2000. It is the highest figure recorded in the poll since 1966, when a long decline began.
How is it to be explained? The 1966 figure, 65 percent, came toward the end of what then appeared to be one of the most productive periods of presidential-congressional cooperation in history. The "Great Society" Democratic Congress elected on Lyndon Johnson’s coattails in 1964 passed the Voting Rights Act, created Medicare, enacted the first large federal aid to education law and a host of other social and environmental measures designed to improve the lives of millions of Americans.
The 1966 vote of confidence came before the main buildup of U.S. forces in Vietnam and the jump in casualties. It came before the combination of Vietnam and higher domestic spending triggered a severe bout of inflation. And it came before Johnson’s War on Poverty triggered dissension among mayors and degenerated into an outbreak of urban riots.
In early 1966, people were rewarding government for actions taken — not the anticipation of what was to come. The recent surge of support is different.
If the federal government in 2001 were to be judged by its performance, it might not merit even a passing grade. The first duty of government is to protect the people. But the United States suffered the largest single day loss of life since the Civil War when hijacked airliners hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. And we still do not know how the terrorists escaped detection.
The second task of any modern government is to manage the economy in a way that fosters growth in incomes and provides job security. The U.S. economy has been slowing for more than a year now, and the actions of the Federal Reserve Board, the administration and Congress have yet to reverse the trend. The economic jolt to our transportation and tourism and service sectors from the September 11 carnage has added to the already substantial problems in manufacturing and agriculture. Now economic rescue measures are needed.
So the surge in confidence this time reflects something quite different: a hope and belief that government can now act to fix two very serious problems — the threats of terrorism and recession.
The hope rests on the realization that only government has the resources to wage the military-diplomatic-economic struggle against the shadowy terrorist network that has launched these nightmare attacks and might have even worse plans for the future. Everyone realizes that Washington has to respond. As my colleague Stephen Barr has pointed out, the data assembled by Washington Post pollsters Richard Morin and Claudia Deane show that trust in government has increased among Republicans as well as Democrats, conservatives as well as liberals, and among all ages and income levels.
The belief that government will act has been bolstered by the demonstration of unity from leaders of both parties at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. The public always is grateful for a respite in partisan squabbling. It is particularly needed at a time when the nation is in shock.
Welcome as this turnabout in public opinion is, there is also a hazard implicit in these numbers for the president, members of Congress and others in positions of responsibility. Because this show of confidence in government rests on expectations of its future performance, it risks disillusionment. Just as Johnson’s dreams of a "Great Society" were dashed on the rocks of Vietnam, inflation and riots, these hopes of a successful war on terrorism and a return to prosperity could lead to disappointment.
President Bush, whose own steady performance has helped build confidence in government, has been trying to prepare the public for a long and costly struggle. But the expectations of victory are very high — and if those hopes are frustrated, the fall could be just as swift.
David Broder can be reached at The Washington Post Writers Group, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071-9200.
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