Election Day 2012 is officially one year away, and if one thing is certain, it is that Americans’ disapproval of government is at an all-time high. A recent New York Times/CBS News poll found that 89 percent of Americans do not trust the government and 84 percent disapprove of Congress. The numbers are reason for alarm on both sides of the aisle. As he tries to secure a second term, President Obama must contend with a possibly lethal combination of high unemployment numbers and low approval ratings. The news is not much better for Republicans. Seven out of ten Americans believe the GOP’s policies favor the rich. Todd Zwillich, The Takeaway’s Washington correspondent, and Anna Sale, political correspondent for WNYC’s politics website, It’s a Free Country, preview the next year of presidential politics.
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