>>> ARE YOU BETTER OFF THAN YOU ARE FOUR YEARS AGO?
>> THAT IS A QUESTION THAT
DEFINED THE 1980 PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION AND IT IS A QUESTION
THAT COULD ULTIMATELY DECIDE THE
2020 ELECTION.
2020 ELECTION. THIS MORNING, A BRAND NEW STUDY
FROM GALLOP AND POPULUS IS
SHEDDING LIGHT ON THAT VERY
QUESTION.
QUESTION. IT’S GOT ME THINKING LOOKING AT
EXACTLY HOW AMERICANS DEFINE
SUCCESS.
SUCCESS. ONE OF THE BIG TAKE-AWAYS,
THERE’S A STARK DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN NOW PEOPLE DEFINE THEIR
OWN SUCCESS AND WHAT THEY
BELIEVE SOCIETY CONSIDERS
SUCCESS.
SUCCESS. HERE TO DISCUSS, CO-FOUNDER AND
PRESIDENT OF THE TINK TANK
POPULUS, DR. TODD ROSE AND
CONGRESSMAN ISRAEL BACK WITH ME.
TODD, THREE OF THE TOP FACTORS
FOR PERSONAL SUCCESS ARE
EDUCATION, RELATIONSHIPS AND
CHARACTER.
CHARACTER. BUT THOSE SAME PEOPLE BELIEVE
SOCIETY DEFIANCE SUCCESS BY FAME
AND STATUS.
AND STATUS. HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THIS
CONTRAST?
CONTRAST? >> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, IT’S
WILDLY HOPEFUL FOR ME THAT THE
PERSONAL CHARACTER OF THE
AMERICAN PUBLIC IS SOMETHING
WHERE WE WANT TO BE GOOD PEOPLE
AND STRONGER IN OUR
RELATIONSHIPS, WHETHER IT’S OUR
FAMILY OR COMMUNITY.
BUT WE’RE LIVING IN A SOCIETY
WHERE MEDIA KEEPS GIVING US THE
MESSAGE THAT WHAT WE REALLY WANT
IS TO BE BETTER THAN OTHER
PEOPLE AND COMPARE OURSELVES AND
IT TURNS OUT NOT TO BE TRUE.
>> LET’S VOTE.
CONGRESSMAN ISRAEL, AS YOU LOOK
AT HOW PEOPLE DEFINE THEIR OWN
SUCCESS, FINANCIAL SECURITY IS
ACTUALLY LOWER THAN EDUCATION
AND CHARACTER.
AND CHARACTER. YET WHEN PEOPLE GO TO VOTE, WE
HEARD SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE LAST
ELECTION SAY THINGS LIKE I DON’T
LIKE THE PRESIDENT’S CHARACTER,
I DON’T LIKE WHAT HE DOES, I
DON’T LIKE HOW HE BEHAVES, BUT
FOR MY OWN PERSONAL FINANCE AND
FOR MY BUSINESS, I’VE GOT TO GO
WITH HIM.
WITH HIM. HOW DO YOU MARRY THE TWO?
THEY FORGET MORALITY WHEN IT
COMES TO VOTING?
>> I DON’T KNOW THAT THEY FORGET
MORALITY.
MORALITY. IN FACT, I WOULD NARROW THIS
DOWN.
DOWN. THE COOK POLITICAL REPORT HAS A
THEORY AND I SUBSCRIBE TO IT,
THAT NO MATTER HOW WELL THE
ECONOMY IS GOING, NO MATTER HOW
COMFORTABLE PEOPLE FEEL IN THEIR
OWN LIVES, 35% OF THEM ARE
VOTING FOR DONALD TRUMP IF IT’S
NOT GOING WELL, THEY’RE STILL
VOTING FOR HIM.
45% ARE VOTING AGAINST HIM, NO
MATTER WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH THE
ECONOMY.
ECONOMY. THIS STUDY IS FASCINATING WITH
THE 20% WHO HAVE NOT YET MADE A
DECISION AND IN THEIR SPECIFIC
COMMUNITIES.
COMMUNITIES. THIS ELECTION IS GOING TO BE WON
OR LOST IN SEVEN BATTLEGROUND
STATES IN ABOUT 20 COUNTIES LIKE
ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, SAGINAW,
MICHIGAN, AND THAT’S WHERE THIS
STUDY REALLY COUNTS.
ARE THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL
UNDECIDED WILLING TO VOTE FOR
DONALD TRUMP, NOTWITHSTANDING
WHETHER THE ECONOMY IS GOOD OR
BAD OR WHETHER THEY FEEL
PERSONALLY FULFILLED AND
COMFORTABLE IN THAT ECONOMY.
>> CHARLIE, TAKE US TO THE STATE
OF WISCONSIN.
OF WISCONSIN. DOES THAT REFLECT WHAT YOU SEE
THERE?
THERE? DOES IT MATCH WHAT MOTIVATES
WISCONSIN VOTERS?
WISCONSIN VOTERS? >> YEAH, I DO THINK THAT IT DOES
MATCH.
MATCH. WE USED TO SAY IT WAS THE
ECONOMY, AND I THINK IT’S MUCH
MORE COMPLICATED THESE DAYS.
I THINK THERE IS A CULTURAL
TRANSITION WHERE PEOPLE ARE
ASKING IS THIS ALL THERE IS.
AND I THINK THAT THERE IS MORE
OF AN EMPHASIS ON COMMUNITY, ON
PURPOSE, ON CHARACTER, THAT I
THINK DOES CUT AGAINST SORT OF
THIS TRUMP-IAN LOGIC.
BUT THE ECONOMY IS ALWAYS GOING
TO BE IMPORTANT.
WHAT I THINK IS LACKING RIGHT
NOW, THOUGH, IS -- WELL, THE
PROBLEM THAT I THINK DONALD
TRUMP HAS IS THAT EVEN THOUGH MY
401(K) IS MUCH RICHER THAN IT
WAS FOUR YEARS AGO, THE FACT IS
THERE’S MORE UNCERTAINTY,
THERE’S MORE INSECURITY, THERE’S
MORE ANXIETY.
MORE ANXIETY. AND I DO THINK THAT THOSE ARE
THINGS THAT WEIGH ON VOTERS, NOT
JUST IN WISCONSIN, BUT ALL
AROUND THE COUNTRY.
>> TAKE ME TO THAT WISCONSIN
VOTER WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE A GREAT
401(K) OR AN INVESTMENT
PORTFOLIO.
PORTFOLIO. THEY VOTED FOR THE PRESIDENT
BECAUSE THE ECONOMY HAD LEFT
THEM OUT.
THEM OUT. WHEN YOU SEE MANUFACTURING JOBS
SHRINK, WHEN YOU SEE BASICALLY A
SIMILAR ECONOMY TO WHAT WE HAD
DURING THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION,
WITH MAYBE SOME NEGATIVE ASPECTS
BECAUSE THE TRADE WAR, HOW ARE
THOSE PEOPLE FEELING?
>> WELL, IT’S NOT JUST
MANUFACTURING JOBS THAT ARE
SHRINKING.
SHRINKING. ALSO, THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IS
REALLY SUFFERING.
REALLY SUFFERING. WE HAVE HAD A RECORD NUMBER OF
FAMILY FARMS THAT HAVE CLOSED
THEIR DOORS HERE IN WISCONSIN.
THAT’S AN ISSUE.
AND SO FAR I DON’T THINK THE
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN HAS REALLY
ADDRESSED THE QUESTION OF RURAL
AMERICA AND THE STRESS OF RURAL
AMERICA AND PARTICULARLY THE
STRESS CAUSED BY THIS TRADE WAR.
SO ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE GOING
TO BE FACTORS.
NOW, THE QUESTION IS WHETHER OR
NOT THE CULTURAL AND I’D LOGICAL
ISSUES, THE TRIBALIZATION OF OUR
POLITICS OVERRIDES THE SPECIFIC
ECONOMIC ISSUES.
ECONOMIC ISSUES. BUT THEY’RE NOT NECESSARILY
CUTTING IN TRUMP’S FAVOR RIGHT
NOW.
NOW. >> TRABLIZATION TAKES US TO
IDEOLOGY.
IDEOLOGY. WHAT I THOUGHT WAS AN
INTERESTING FINDING IN THE
REPORT, LIBERALS REPORT A LOWER
FEELING OF PERSONAL SUCCESS THAN
CONSERVATIVES DO.
CONSERVATIVES DO. IS THAT BECAUSE CONSERVATIVES
ARE MORE BUSINESS PEOPLE?
>> NO, I THINK WHAT WE SAW WAS
THAT THERE WAS JUST A LOT OF
INDIVIDUALITY IN THE WAY WE
THINK ABOUT SUCCESS AND SOME OF
THAT ARGUE GATES INTO SOME
PATTERNS RELATED TO OUR
POLITICAL BELIEFS.
POLITICAL BELIEFS. I THINK THE BIGGER TAKE-AWAY IS
TWO THINGS, ONE THAT WE VALUE
DIFFERENT THINGS AND THAT’S
OKAY, AND TWO, WE DO HAVE IN
COMMON AN ALMOST COMPLETE
REJECTION OF THE ALL STATUS
DRIVEN VIEW OF SUCCESS.
>> ANYTHING THAT CANDIDATES
SHOULD CONSIDER WHEN LOOKING AT
THESE STUDY?
THESE STUDY? >> THE ECONOMY OBVIOUSLY IS
IMPORTANT.
IMPORTANT. SO THIS STUDY SAYS YOU SHOULD
STILL TEND TO THAT.
BUT THAT IT’S NOT A SILVER
BULLET.
BULLET. ECONOMIC MOBILITY IS NOT THE END
ALL, BE ALL.
THERE’S A BROADER MORE