Ethics Newsline®

U.S. Public Says “Government Needs Better Moral Leadership”

Oct 27th, 2008 • Posted in: Research Report

Amidst robo-calls and negative ads, poll finds widespread distrust of politicians

From Harris Interactive:

“Regardless of the candidate they support, most people agree on the need for more honest and moral leaders. This desire is shared not only by most adult Americans, but also by most teenagers.

“…This Harris Poll finds:

“Four in five adult Americans agree that the federal government needs better moral leadership, with 59 percent strongly agreeing with that sentiment. These feelings are not limited to adults. Two-thirds of teens, 13-17 years old (68%) also agree that the federal government needs better moral leadership;
“Over half of adults (57%) and a similar number of teens (58%) believe that most politicians would take a bribe if they could get away with it.
“Almost three in five adults (58%) believe that most politicians are not honest, a feeling shared by 57 percent of teens. Just one in five adults (19%) and one in ten teens (10%) believe most politicians are honest;
“Looking at adults, there are some interesting party line differences. Independents (64%) are more likely than both Republicans (57%) and Democrats (53%) to believe that politicians would take a bribe if they could get away with it. Democrats (25%) are more likely to believe that most politicians are honest, in comparison to both Republicans (18%) and Independents (15%)….

“The study also found that there is some mixed feelings on whether elections will be fair in their state….

“According to Regina Corso, Director of The Harris Poll, ‘At the moment, we have the lowest ever number of people who say the country is going in the right direction and near, or at, record low approval ratings for many politicians. Many people are angry and expect more from their politicians — better moral leadership. There is hope that a new administration will provide leadership that has a strong moral element….’

“According to Peter Shafer, Vice President of the Harris Interactive Youth Center of Excellence, ‘The conventional wisdom in every Presidential election is that since younger voters don’t show up at the polls, why should candidates bother addressing the issues that are relevant to them? If these attitudes exist then it’s no wonder that the youth turnout is so low. Politicians need to remember that today’s youth are watching and are tomorrow’s voters. And, they need to be shown that there truly are good, honest and dedicated people in Washington, DC, contrary to what they may see and hear in the media.’…”