As polling influences the places candidates go and the things each campaign does, we're taking a look at the "Heartland Poll" from The National Journal and The Atlantic.

That poll report Americans' trust in institutions, confidence in the economy and expectations of opportunity.

National Journal Editor Ron Brownstein held a discussion Thursday at the Republican National Convention about how American optimism has weathered the recession.

He said he describes Americans as "resilient, wary and divided."

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