In the past year, an intense public debate has taken place over the role of government in the current sluggish economy, health-care reform, and approaches to taming a growing federal budget deficit. These public conflicts over policy can be characterized in one word: hyperpartisanship.

Americans do not believe that government policies have worked to turn the economy around. They are now deeply pessimistic about the economy's prospects and increasingly disapprove of the Obama administration and Congress. In our annual survey of the nation's views, the authors describe a strong...