Not my era, but I can believe it, coming out of WWII. I would guess that Vietnam eroded any positive trust, and may have been the turning point. Of course, Nixon and Watergate conceivably blew the lid off this.

Good point. I think that is precisely what Caddell is implying, but your right he doesn’t really provide any evidence to that end. His observations are more a snapshot in time rather than a history or evolution of a trend.

What is interesting about your point, though (“. . . e.g. majority probably always would agree that “Political leaders are more interested in protecting their power and privilege”) is that, growing up in the 1950s and 60s, I don’t think that was the prevailing attitude then during the Eisenhower, Kennedy and early Johnson administrations. Now it seems to me to be ingrained into the national attitude. But I was young then, and certainly not very politically attuned so I could easily be mistaken.

Good point. I think that is precisely what Caddell is implying, but your right he doesn’t really provide any evidence to that end. His observations are more a snapshot in time rather than a history or evolution of a trend.

What is interesting about your point, though (“. . . e.g. majority probably always would agree that “Political leaders are more interested in protecting their power and privilege”) is tha, growing up int he 1950s and 60s, I don’t think that was the prevailing attitude in the 1960s during the Eisenhower, Kennedy and early Johnson adminsitrations. Now it seems to me to be ingrained into the national attitude. But I was young then, and certainly not very politically attuned.

One of the things I’d have liked is if he would have comparisons of those eight questions he measure responses on.

I have the sense that there would almost always be a directionally similar response dynamic (e.g. majority probably always would agree that “Political leaders are more interested in protecting their power and privilege”), but what would be more interesting is if there is a trend one way or the other over time.

I, personally have always given credit to Caddell, who, IMO, has brought a great sobriety to his analysis of politics and elections over the years. He may not always be correct, but I would never call him a party tool.

The link:

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/11/07/patrick-caddell-real-election-surprise-uprising-american-people.html

Here lists some suggestions of historical markers to look for as a basis for comparison.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/some-helpful-history-to-remember-on-election-night/2016/11/04/572f51a4-a2ad-11e6-a44d-cc2898cfab06_story.html