Jan. 13, 2008
Poll: Americans Think U.S. On Wrong Track
Economy And The War Have Americans Voicing Pessimism About The Future Of The Country
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Timeline
Credit Crunch
Feeling the squeeze? Here's a look at actions and statements from key players in Washington.
Concern about the direction of the country is accompanied by growing alarm about the condition of the economy - now the country’s most important problem. Perceptions of the condition of the national economy continue to drop, and most Americans think the worst is yet to come.
Three in four Americans think the country is off on the wrong track, matching the highest number recorded in the twenty-five years since CBS News began asking the question. Only 19% say it is headed in the right direction, matching the all-time low reached last June.
Worries about the direction of the country coincide with a low job approval rating for the president. 29% of Americans approve of the way President Bush is handling his job as president. Approval has hovered around 30% for the past year.
What approval is left of the president is fueled mainly by members of the president’s own party. 66% of Republicans still approve of how he is handling his job, while nearly six in 10 Independents and nearly nine in 10 Democrats disapprove.
The Economy: Growing Concerns
For the first time in over two years the economy and jobs is the most important problem facing the country today - edging out the war in Iraq. 23% name it - up eleven points in just one month.
61% say the condition of the economy is bad - including nearly one in five that say it is in very bad shape. 38% describe the economy as good - though only 3% say it is very good. In January 2007 a majority of Americans said the economy was at least in fairly good condition.
Pessimism about the economy’s future is on the rise. 62%, the highest percentage since 1990, think the economy is getting worse, not better.
Read The Complete CBS News/NY Times Poll On The Republican Race
The War In Iraq
Nearly six in 10 Americans say the war in Iraq is going badly - including 30% who say it is going very badly - while another 38% say it is going at least somewhat well. These numbers have changed little since last month, though they are an improvement from a year ago.
Meanwhile, public opinion on the effectiveness of the troop surge that began last spring continues to improve. 40% now say it has made the situation better there, a number that has increased steadily since July.
Looking to the future of U.S. troop commitment in Iraq, half of all Americans want most U.S. troops out of Iraq within the next year, and only about one in five is willing to see large numbers of American troops remain in Iraq for longer than two years.
Looking back, 58% of Americans believe the U.S. made the wrong decision going to war in Iraq.
This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1178 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone January 9-12, 2008. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher. An oversample of African Americans was also conducted for this poll, for a total of 185 interviews among this group and 141 African American Democratic primary voters. The results were then weighted in proportion to the racial composition of the adult population in the U.S. Census. The margin of error for African Americans overall is plus or minus 7 percentage points, and plus or minus 8 points for African American Democratic primary voters.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 262 CommentsIf you listen carefully, you can hear the champagne corks popping at Barack Obama campaign headquarters.
There is real money at stake here, only an approved stooge is allowed to be president, someone who keeps the flow of funds coming straight from the people to the rich.
Revolutions it is true happen almost exclusively after a failed war, when the government is hated and weak. So this might be a chance for a mini-revolt of a mild sort, such as an Obama presidency, but I don''t think the rich will roll over that easy. They have it good, and they believe themselves entitled to it.
To the Emperor and the Fascist neocon Republicans, as well as the 20-25% of the country who think the US is on the right track, there is no wrong track except that which does not agree with the Great Emperor''s agenda. As far as the Great Emperor Bush is concerned, his agenda of creating the former US into a 3rd world country is proceeding according to plan and if that goal is not achieved before the election of 2008, the Great Emperor will simply postpone elections until the job is done.
The Great Emperor Bush II wants to leave a legacy behind and leaving the former US a debt-ridden 3rd world country is the legacy he wants history to remember him for.
SIG HEIL, BUSH
Brilliant observation, professor. I believe that is what we call a "democracy". Do you remember what that is, or are you content to just sit there, fat, rich, and ignorant as you drink the Kool-Aid this administration has given to you?
This is going to be a tough battle.
Frankly, I at first thought Obama could be one of the good guys. But he''s starting to look like a total condescending egomaniac who hasn''t got a clue what he might get into. And I''m seriously starting to question his motives to gain power in this country.
My vote goes to the one who has been trying to help the American people for as long as I can remember her name.
You have to be another Bush-Like Bushie moron,
Conservative Evangelical Republican Fool to think otherwise,of course we are on the wrong track,
Look at the President of the United States? WOW!
This is waywrong, You 20 % (that means 20 per centers) are the problem,
The mindless christian vote PURCHASED from the criminal evangelical PASTORS with the FAITH BASED BRIBE, THAT IS HOW WE GOT THIS CRIMINAL FOR A PRESIDENT.
Thanks a lot christian BUBBA FOOLS!
1) CANCEL YOUR CABLE TV: let the corporate media moguls (and their advertisers) know that you can no longer pay for their propaganda ..
2) STOP INVESTING YOUR MONEY ON WALL ("WAR") STREET: corporate America is selling out the middle class to the lowest global bidder and using our own money to do it; the financial markets will push for anything that increases profits - especially war .. best to invest your money in land, real estate or even better, gold and silver%u2026
3) SUPPORT LOCAL ECONOMIES !
- Buy from local manufacturers, local retailers, local craftspeople/artisans, etc.
- if possible, BURN WOOD for heat;
- support local growers or grow some of your own food;
- implement alternative energy sources (solar, hybrid autos etc ..)
- develop local means of commerce not based on the failing US dollar ..
4) STOP UNNECESSARY CONSUMPTION & STOP USING YOUR CREDIT CARD ! think twice about what you buy; is it absolutely necessary ? who does it ultimately support ?
5) DECENTRALIZE ! - the global economy is nothing more than a ploy to centralize power, control and wealth into the hands of an elite few - blinded by misinformation, the American people are buying right into it - the rich get richer and the middle class is quickly becoming the working poor ...
Wrong track???
Posted by didnt_inhale
Yes, dummy. The stock market has triple digit plunges, the unemployment rate is 10-25% given the reality; not fixed beaurcratic government statistics, the Bushwack''s Wag the Dog manages to promote his own war.
You have to immbecile, or a republican croonie.
- Posted by SharnCedar at 08:15 PM : Jan 13, 2008
As Paul Newman said in "The Verdict,"
"They still gotta take it to a jury."
The jury in this case is the American electorate, increasingly liberated by relative freedom of the Internet.
It"s not like the old days.
Don"t worry too much about Obama being assassinated. The Secret Service has improved its methods greatly since Reagan was shot.
Case in point: George W. Bush is alive and well, despite a host of enemies foreign and domestic.
You have to be an imbecile, or a republican croonie. Well, which are you?
FOX Polls
Economists Raise Odds for Possible U.S. Recession This Year
Sunday, January 13, 2008
WASHINGTON %u2014 The unemployment rate leaps to a two-year high, record numbers of people are forced from their homes and Wall Street nose-dives again. Such is the fallout from a housing meltdown that threatens to slingshot the country into a recession.
The big economic question these days is whether the weakening economy will survive the strains or collapse under them.
The odds have grown that the economy will slip into a recession. At the beginning of last year, many economists put that chance at less than 1-in-3; now an increasing number says it has climbed to around 50-50. Goldman Sachs, the biggest investment bank on Wall Street even thinks a recession is inevitable this year.
Hopeful it can be avoided, President Bush and the Democrat-controlled Congress are exploring economic rescue measures, including possible tax rebates. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pledged to lower interest rates as needed.
The idea is to induce people to boost spending, especially on big-ticket items such as homes and cars, and revitalize economic activity.
"The recession gorilla is there. The question is can the Federal Reserve do enough to avert a recession?" asked Brian Bethune, economist at Global Insight. "We think the odds are close to 50 percent that there will be a recession. It is high -- no question about it."
Ron Paul also returns part or all of his pension? He stands for the CONSTITUTION and how bad can that be?????? I sure hope people wake up.....
Barack Obama will even fight to protect the right of DANGEROUS CRIMINALS to SUE YOU if they get themselves hurt after breaking into your home!
Meanwhile congress has the lowest approval rating it has ever had, much lower than Bush''s approval rating and where do the democrats go to get all their candidates?
CONGRESS!
Will Americans ever wake up??????
Hello, I don''t think the us is on the wrong track, I know it is!!!!!!
Soon even the rich will pay when the lower classes can no longer keep them going... cause they can no longer afford their prices for everthng!!!
If it''s really so important to ppl, it''d be great to see the press actually give ppl the information they need to make this important decision because the candidates seem to have a vested interest in keeping the issues vague or in promising the moon and the stars to get ppl to vote for the sizzle rather than the steak . . .
Hello, I don''t think the us is on the wrong track, I know it is!!!!!!
Soon even the rich will pay when the lower classes can no longer keep them going... cause they can no longer afford their prices for everthng!!!
The U.S. is on a lot of tracks, so which track are we talking about? In the context of the War track, no matter who the U.S. President was when the 9/11 terrorist attack happened, the U.S. would still probably be at War in some context, maybe in the right place against the right targets but still at War just the same! Any U.S. President would have retaliated. Many incorrectly think that when Pres. Bush leaves office everything with return to normal but thats not necessarily true! The 9/11 terrorist attack was going to happen no matter who was President, the U.S. is under attack with or without President Bush! Whats really interesting is that even if Pres. Bush went after the right targets in Afghanistan, where the Russians got bogged down for 10 years, we could have got bogged down there for 10 years too! The Bush administration didn''t handle the Post 9/11 Worldwide sympathy well or the response to the attack well but even with that said don''t lose sight of the fact that Pres. Bush was still not the cause of the attack, its not like if Pres. Bush wasn''t in office 9/11 would not have happened and thats the point! We can''t put our guard down even when Pres. Bush leaves office!
Posted by tbweb
That seems major to me because it was easy to get into Iraq but it seems like it''s going to be terribly hard to get out. And who else can relate to the experience of buying stuff on credit only to not really feel the weight of having to pay for it until the bill arrives in the mail?
Like realistically, how much can one person do? The president can control whether troops stay or go, but has no control over how the Iraqis will deal with their choice. And the president can set budget priorities, try to cut spending, and try to soothe the credit crisis but has no control over China and India''s cheap skilled and unskilled labor pools.
I''d really like to hear some economists sound in on what we ought to look for in a president. I don''t feel like we all have enough information to know what we can expect . . .
NeoCon reptillians brought the USA 9/11 for their own profit and power. Bu$h and Cheney aided and abbetted the use of terrorist-style attacks on their own population.
Ushering in the Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act during the resulting fear was icing on the cake of unbridled greed.
All that was left was to raid the US Treasury, which the NeoCons had the Pentagoons do, using Halliburton, in high style...
Yes, the US is on the wrong track.
Quit being suckers, those who are bleeding us dry and sinking the ship love to see you guys arguing the moot, instead of figuring out if the ship can be righted, and how to do it, because any solutions will definitely affect their ability to profit from this mess.
No kidding. That''s an understatement!
When the Attorney General can''t figure out if "water boarding" is torture or not.
When we can''t (or refuse) to organize an effective rescue effort for Katrina victims, because it''s too dangerous, meanwhile 90 pound news anchors with millions of dollars of equipment are inside NOLA covering the story.
when you see the disgraceful conditions at VA Hospitals like Walter Reed.
When you read about the 9 billion dollars in cash that disappeared, and can''t be accounted for in Iraq.
Not to mention the Billion dollars worth of weapons unaccounted for. Oh and remember Haliburton.
Abu Ghraib.
Mortgage meltdown.
The list goes on people.
Economy And The War Have Americans Voicing Pessimism About The Future Of The Country"
Surely they do. After 7 years of demonRats-antiwar-propaganda in which they spent billions of dollar.
Posted by TheGateway1 at 03:41 AM : Jan 14, 2008,,,
Agreed as well. The United States is a terrorist target and was under attack prior to Pres. Bush coming to office and will be a terrorist target and under attack after Pres. Bush leaves office! We all have our places and things we do well and situations we excel in better than others. For example, if I were writing a poem in the park on a sunny day FeelFeel1 would probably be good company, but if I were in the Vietnam jungle or on an Iraqi or Afghanistan patrol, lars008 would probably be good company! We all have our places and functions we do well. Someone pointed out in a Post a while back that if the U.S. were attacked, Giuliani would be good to have in office but that during peace time Giuliani was out of place and overbearing! We also don''t want a President who is good during peace and weak during an attack or War! Who is the middle ground Presidential Candidate that can be both? In the end its scary to read all these Post where Bush is too blame for every attack on the U.S. and every American ill, he helped, but its just not true, its also not true that if Pres. Bush leaves office the U.S. will be safer and things will return to normal when actually depending on who we elect the U.S. may be less safer!
brianbwb,
Re: "Hey guys, the Titanic is sinking, and everyone is arguing about whether Smith should have turned left or right days before."
"Quit being suckers, those who are bleeding us dry and sinking the ship love to see you guys arguing the moot, instead of figuring out if the ship can be righted, and how to do it, because any solutions will definitely affect their ability to profit from this mess."
Very good.
Posted by tbweb at 04:23 AM : Jan 14, 2008
.............
LOL!
Oh tbweb, you had me rolling on the floor with that one! Lars008 by your side in a Vietnam jungle, Iraq or Afghanistan?!
Out of no where... as the bullets are flying... Lars008, instead of doing something useful, would only begin to quote some historical figure from hundreds of years ago backing up reasons why he hates either the Vietnamese, Iraqis, or Afghanis...
...but having absolutely nothing to do with the situation at hand!
(In a fire fight, I''d rather team up with "formrusmcsgt", "AJmarine1", "MCvet", and the like. But I digress).
(In a fire fight, I''''d rather team up with "formrusmcsgt", "AJmarine1", "MCvet", and the like. But I digress).
Posted by USAyesterday at 05:48 AM : Jan 14, 2008,,,
Yeah, but lars008 always ended with "can we kill them now?", and in War you need a "can we kill them now?" type! LOL
Posted by tbweb at 04:23 AM : Jan 14, 2008
+ report abuse
You see that''s the problem with you fascist, you elect a Dictator and refuse to admit when they are wrong. As someone pointed out the other day, these folks have studied us and they have GREAT intel. They studied Southern Fascist, their ways and how scared they are of anything different. They KNOW the first response of a Southern Nazi is to try to "Kill them All". This played right into the hands of the bad guys so instead of us finding WORLD WIDE support to bring those who ordered and planned the attack on us to justice, we now see World Wide hatred for Bush! The Enemy knew Bush, they KNEW the Republican Party as it exist TODAY and they played that to the hilt... so much so that they have completely rebuilt their organization and the Taliban and we can''t get anyone to help us fight them NOW. As for who would have MY back in a fight? I would want someone who has been there before and I would care less about what political party they belonged too. Sieg Heil Bush!!
Take the time to research what is really going on in the word, and people like FeelFree1 and SearingTruth will go home and leave independent thinkers alone, rather than trying to push more of the media bias down your throats.
Posted by TheGateway1 at 03:41 AM : Jan 14, 2008
+ report abuse
It''s always someone else''s fault with you Nazi''s isn''t it? It''s always the Media, Clinton, the ACLU, "Lib''s", and on and on and on. You freaks actually think you are superior and no one but you can take in all the info out there and make up their minds. Tell me swastika breath who would you propose to determine what we see and hear? Who would you propose to determine if the media is "balanced"? Should we have a propaganda ministry like your pal did in Germany? I''ve heard you in the Reich whine and complain about our Free Press all my life yet at every turn in our history it is that FREE PRESS that has consistently bailed out this nation. It''s that Free Press that has brought so many crooks to light and so many wrongs to our attention. Personally I''d like to decide what I hear and what I see... If you want the straight party line, if you choose to be a Fascist, you have so many outlets available, I can''t see why you would object to me listening to OTHER outlets. Sieg Heil Bush!!
Posted by BaghdadsHere at 04:11 AM : Jan 14, 2008
+ report abuse
Right!! Folks all of you tune in to Rush, FOX or any of the HUNDREDS of Nazi broadcast out there EVERYDAY and tell me this IDIOT knows anything about the word Propaganda. He is so lost and alone he''s helpless... None of us can depend on losers like this or others on this post to get us out of the mess we''re in. To them there is ONLY the Party and the Party Line. They are willing to follow the Fuhrer to the Bunker and to HELLL with the rest of us and the world. That''s not America and it''s time we got back to being the LEADER of the Free World. These Fascist and they are fascist, have no desire to talk to us and try to find a way out so it''s best to just leave them to their hate and bitterness. BUSH is INCOMPETENT! That''s a fact and we must move on from there. Sieg Heil Bush!!
Any takers?
Posted by BaghdadsHere
No sane person needs propaganda to be against war, but then your sanity is clearly in question.
Any takers?"
Posted by tulcak
Well, for one Bush and his friends have stolen so much loot that they might be able to hire a couple of Guatemalan maids, and so the "trickle down theory" as posited by that other idiot finally has some empirical evidence, there may be ten or twenty new jobs in it...
Posted by lorinkundert at 07:16 AM : Jan 14, 2008
............
I live in the SF Bay Area.
I am reading the same CBSnews.com site as you are.
If you are referring to the local news media... sure, the editorials lean left, but the core information is just the same.
Reagan''s policies did reverse the miserable economic conditions that started long before his term. Remember WIN and stagflation?. Reagan not only turned things around, he also spent wisely on defense, totally ***-up the old Soviet Union.
peace and Love
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