Post by Sam Braverman, Harris Poll Project Researcher

On a recent Harris Poll  Americans were asked what type of Supreme Court justice they would most prefer.  In response, half of U.S. adults said someone who keeps their personal opinions of “right” and “wrong” to themselves, and makes decisions strictly based on the letter of the law and the Constitution (51%).  While it’s nice to hear that Americans believe so strongly in the Constitution, this response also somewhat amused me.

The U.S. Constitution is widely regarded as one of the most famous and enduring documents in United States, and possibly world, history.  Written in 1787 and updated with the first ten amendments, commonly known as the Bill of Rights, in 1791, the Constitution has informed U.S. law, the rights of American citizens, and the creation of other governments around the world for more than 200 years.  The reason that the Constitution has proven to be not only successful, but also enduring is as simple as it was forward-thinking.

The fathers of the U.S. Constitution were insightful enough to know that they didn’t have all the answers.  They understood that in order to create a document that could be widely applied and lasting, it would have to be flexible, where the spirit is apparent, but the specifics are left up to interpretation.

It is this fixed need for interpretation that makes the Constitution applicable today, which simultaneously makes the answer of 51% of American adults, interesting and possibly amusing.  Luckily, the Constitution also provides for freedom of speech, or the open exchange of ideas, whereby compromise and consensus might be reached.  That is, at least, according to my interpretation.

What do you think?

The Harris Poll's Alienation Index has stayed nearly the same (actually it’s gone down one point) from last year … meaning we, as Americans, essentially feel just as  “disaffected,” “isolated,” and even “hostile”… according to my Microsoft Word thesaurus… as we did last year. 

That’s the bad news. 

Now, here’s the good news…We appear to feel significantly less alienated today than we have in the previous two decades, and we feel less alienated now under the tutelage of Barack Obama than under Clinton, Bush (the father), Reagan, Carter and Ford.

But hold up, before we start popping the champagne of peace, love and understanding, there’s also some confusing news…Our level of alienation is about the same today as it was under George W?  And we feel less alienated now than when we did when the economy was booming?  When we weren’t at war?  When we all had jobs?  So go figure…

When we parse apart the statements that make up the Index (separating those that are more political from those that are more social or economic in nature), we can provide a little more detail to the story. 

In terms of agreement (which means higher alienation), Americans today are more likely to feel that:

• The rich get richer and the poor get poorer = ↑ 2
• You’re left out of things going on around you = ↑ 2

And less likely to feel that:

• The people running the country don’t really care what happens to you = ↓ 3
• What you think doesn’t count very much anymore = ↓ 4
• Most people with power try to take advantage of people like yourself = ↓ 4

Maybe this Index is somewhat emotional and not altogether rational. But there is some evidence that Americans today are more likely to feel that their voice is being heard, even if the economy is tanking and their world is spinning…Score a small 1 for Barack Obama.

Turns out that being squeaky clean (at least as far as the public knows) now officially means NOTHING in the way of sports fanship. Last month, we released the Harris Poll’s list of favorite sports stars… and as far as I can tell, only 2 out of the top 8 have stayed out of the spotlight for off-the-court/field hijinx (is that what we are calling it that these days?).  Our favorites list includes reality-show proportions of addiction, infidelity, gambling, and arrests, just to name a few of the exploits covered. 

Sure, we don’t love our sports stars quite as much when they’ve been behaving badly…Like for example, Tiger Woods no longer has a lock on first place, he now has to share it with what-scandal?-I-have-my-fifth-ring Kobe Bryant…And yes it’s true that Lebron James fell 3 spots to #6 after he took us on a tour of his ego this summer.

But this list rings like a roll call of who’s most-wanted for indecent and egomaniacal behavior rather than (or as well as) a list of our most beloved sports icons. As a mom and a sports fan, my list would be SO different… but then of course, none of mine have ever won a ring. What’s the lesson here, kids?

P.S. Just to Lebron, only one athlete in the top 8 has never won a ring in his sport… I’ll let you do the math.  So with all respect, maybe your move to Miami was necessary but I’m not sure how patiently we are going to hold onto your spot.