A poll from the center-left Center for American Progress (CAP) suggests that while American confidence in government to solve problems is at its lowest for a long time, most still see a large government roll in a wide variety of areas, reports the Washington Post. The Post focuses on the fact that just 33% of Americans have a lot or some confidence in the federal government to solve problems, down 11% from 2005, but notes that confidence in state governments (down 15%) and large corporations (down 18%) has declined by even more, suggesting that economic decline has lead to distrust of all the major forces in American life. The liberal CAP, on the other hand, focused on the fact that while Americans don't trust government they would rather see it work more efficiently than shrink by 62% to 36% (though setting up such a choice could be an attempt by the center-left think-tank to encourage respondents not to call for a reduction in the size of government). CAP and the Post also note that despite general dissatisfaction with government, Americans would like to see more government involvement in exploring alternative energy sources, improving public schools, reducing poverty and making college and health care more affordable.

It's worth noting that this poll was commissioned by a liberal think-tank and executed by a Democratic polling firm. The survey methodology is available in the full report.