Americans feel frustrated by the state of our government, economy and culture, but conservatives can’t gain ground by exaggerating the extent of the misery.

It’s ill-advised to ask African-Americans, “What do you have to lose?”—thereby ignoring dramatic black progress over the last two generations. The poverty rate’s still higher for people of color, but three-quarters of African-America now count as middle-class or above.

Similarly, white people without college degrees may have been specially targeted by Republicans, but they’re hardly the oppressed losers of media legend. One-third of the overall electorate is white and without a university diploma. A majority of them say their living standard is higher than their parents and a full 80 percent say they do at least as well.

It’s good news that so many Americans of all races seem to embrace the conservative mantra that proudly proclaims: “I am not a victim.”