1	It looks like this year there's less anti-government sentiment than in recent years, do you think being a politician is now acceptable to voters?

KATHLEEN HALL JAMIESON replies: You know we had a long period of time with the Republicans out of power, in fact forty years, in which the Republicans had as their mantra that experience in government and being in power was corrupt and if they just took power everything was going to be better and different. Now that we have divided government, that appeal has lost its resonance because the Republicans don't want to claim it, they've got the Congress. Democrats don't want to claim it, they've got the White House. And we also, I think out of the gridlock of the first session of the 104th Congress, came to understand the importance of people in government being active. And having experience in a context that lets them accomplish social change. And so this year we are seeing a revival of what was standard political claim-making prior to that long run of anti-establishment politics. And politicians are arguing that they are experienced.		Quicktime movie RealVideo file

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