More united than you think

Anthony Russo

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We are now all too familiar with electoral maps after presidential elections that emphasize our stark “Red State” vs. “Blue State” political and cultural differences. We watch cable news stations with people shouting over each other, which increases their ratings far more than civil discussion and debate. And we know there are mathematical algorithms on news websites and on social media that feed those who like hate speech with more hate speech—and reward such sites and social media influencers with more “clicks” and more profits.

And during Donald Trump’s presidency, there is a prevalent perception that Americans are divided about their commitment to democracy and civil debate. 

But recent polling data from Gallup and the Kettering Foundation’s Democracy for All Project—the two well-respected organizations collaborated to conduct polling of 20,000 US adults between July 7 and August 25, 2025, by internet and mail—proves there is overwhelming support for democratic principles and the right of free speech, regardless of political views.

For example: 
A full 83 percent of US adults reject political violence. 

Another 80 percent agree that, regardless of their views, everyone has a right to free, nonviolent expression. 

And even more—84 percent—of Americans view multiculturalism as a strength of the country, contrary to some of the loudest voices claiming American culture is being compromised by legal migrants of color or from other countries. 

There is some division by party, however, on the pace of such cultural change: Close to two thirds (64 percent) of Republicans think cultural changes have happened too fast, while the same proportion of Democrats hold the opposing view.

Americans are just about evenly divided about the role of government in helping people’s basic needs. And not surprisingly, the divisions are along party or ideological lines: 72 percent of Republicans say people should meet their own needs, while 69 percent of Democrats say the government should be responsible.

This is where President Bill Clinton’s “Third Way” approach to governance and civility in public discourse has proven to be the most successful governing model.

Back in the early 1970s, when I first met Bill Clinton ’73JD shortly after I graduated from Yale Law School and he was a first-year, I heard him use that “third way” expression for the first time about what he said worked back home in Arkansas for effective politicians:  “Neither left nor right but the third way—where the facts are and solutions for people’s problems reside.”

During his two terms, President Clinton applied a rare ideological mix to implement this third way: conservative on fiscal policy (inheriting a deficit and leaving behind a surplus after two terms), progressive on social programs (such as Social Security and Medicare). There was an important caveat, what President Clinton called the “New Covenant” in his 1995 State of the Union speech: In return for citizens accepting government assistance, they needed to commit to focusing on economic growth, community action, and personal responsibility and accountability.

I’d argue that is the reason why after eight years in office, US polls showed President Clinton received a 66 percent job approval rating—the highest such rating in the history of two-term presidents since polling was invented.

Finally, President Clinton’s instinct for rising above hateful, divisive, personal attack politics—his ability to disagree agreeably—is one that would play well today, suggests the recent Gallup–Kettering poll. In fact, four out of five American voters, regardless of party, age, or education, said they supported “compromise” to “get things done.” 

During the turbulent 1960s and ’70s, college campuses across the country were divided over the war in Vietnam, often with violent protests. At Kent State University, unrest resulted in the shooting death of four students by members of the Ohio National Guard.

But not at Yale. Due to the thoughtful and accessible leadership of Yale’s then President Kingman Brewster Jr. ’41, Yale was one of the few campuses in America that avoided violent campus protests during those years of unrest; here, civil disagreement was the rule rather than the exception. That is a lesson pertinent to today’s politics, now more than ever.