Another cause for the increase in alienation and cynicism is a feeling that too many policy decisions that affect individuals have been taken out of any system that has accountability or that they can influence.

Research has shown that the perceived style of leadership is by far the most important thing to most voters in evaluating officeholders and candidates.

Many citizens see all the leadership of these large institutions together in a conspiracy against them rather than in any adversary relationship with each other.

The President's political travel is going to get blamed (and probably rightly) for a share of this downturn.

This has resulted in more and more people becoming inner-directed and having as their only goal, getting as much as they can get out of the system and putting as little into it as possible

Most of the things that need to be said about the President are things he can't say himself.

It is my belief that it is not the fact that he traveled as much as he did during the past few months as much as what he said and how he said it that hurt him.