A new poll shows that 40 percent of Americans, before you break it down by party preference, believe the American Dream is no longer achievable.
But when you break it down by party, that's when it gets really interesting. You think Republicans are down on the American Dream because of the Obama presidency, while Democrats are feelin' fine?
Nope.
Fully 53 percent of Demcorats say the American Dram is dead, while 55 percent of Republicans say the American dream is still achievable. You have diametrically opposite opinions about the American dream.
The reason for that contradiction stems from their ideological beliefs. I summed it up in a speech last night in Texas. People who believe in the American dream believe in freedom. People who believe the American dream is dead believe in free stuff. They want the government to gimme gimme gimme until the government can’t give anymore.
This really gets to why people become Democrats or Republicans in the first place. If your vision of life in America is self-motivated people who work hard to create something they can call their own, you probably become a Republican because all you want is the freedom to do that. If you think the fix is in, that there's really no such thing as the opportunity to blaze your own trail for most people, then you become a Democrat in the hope that the government will make everything "fair."
So it's no surprise that Obama hasn't inspired Democrats' belief in the American Dream. Obama doesn't believe in it himself. He's defined the American dream as maybe having a little something to retire on, having health care, etc. If that's as big as their leader dreams, no wonder Democrats don't believe in the American Dream.
What about you? Is the dream still alive?
