CBS Poll: 81% Say U.S. On Wrong Track

CBS/NY Times Poll Shows Americans Deeply Concerned About Economy

(CBS)  Americans' views on the economy and the general state of the country have hit an all-time low in the history of the CBS News/New York Times poll. Eighty-one percent of those polled say the country is on the wrong track, while only 14 percent believe it is heading in the right direction.

Asked to compare the state of the country to how it was five years ago, 78 percent say things are worse today - the highest percentage since CBS News began asking the question in 1986. Only four percent say things are better now.

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Complete CBS News Polls:
The Economy And State Of The Country
Campaign '08 And Economy
Race Relations In America

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The outlook on the economy is as bleak as views on the state of the country as a whole. Just 21 percent say the economy is in good shape - the lowest percentage recorded since October of 1992. That number is down from January of this year, when 38 percent said the economy was in good shape.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday that a recession is possible, but 66 percent of those polled say the country is already in a recession - a number that is unchanged from two weeks ago.

In light of those views, it is no surprise that the economy and jobs remains the top concern for Americans - 37 percent of whom name it as such - while the war in Iraq is the top concern for 15 percent of those polled.

As which economic problem facing the country is most important, 21 percent say it is gas and oil prices, while 14 percent named housing and the home mortgage crises. Eleven percent say the most important economic problem is jobs.

Despite rampant worries about the economy and concerns about the home mortgage crisis, Americans are relatively satisfied with their own financial status. Seventy-two percent rate their financial situation as at least somewhat good. But this number is down six points from February, and only nine percent of Americans say their financial situation is very good, which is down nine points in the last few weeks.

Most Americans admit that the state of the economy has taken a personal toll. Seventy-nine percent say they have had to make cutbacks in their daily spending in recent years, although only 28 percent say those cutbacks have been severe.

Although seven in ten Americans say the economy is getting worse, they are cautiously optimistic about its long-term future. Nearly half of Americans with families say they believe their children's standard of living will be better than their own. Twenty eight percent say they believe it will decline and 24 percent think it will be about the same as their own. Sixty-two percent of Americans think their standard of living is better than that of their parents when they were the same age.

Americans' negative views on the economy are taking a toll on evaluations of how President Bush is handling the issue. Only 21 percent of Americans now approve of the president's handling of the economy - his lowest rating to date. Mr. Bush's overall job approval rating stands at 28 percent.

The Campaign

The Democratic presidential race continues to be tight nationally, with Barack Obama maintaining a narrow lead. Among Democratic primary voters who have already participated in a Democratic primary held this year, or still plan to, Obama leads Hillary Clinton 46 percent to 43 percent. Those numbers are unchanged from a month ago.

Expectations that Obama will become the nominee have grown in the last two weeks, with 69 percent of Democratic voters now saying they expect him to defeat Clinton - up from 55 percent in mid-March.

Democratic primary voters view Obama as the more electable candidate. Fifty-six percent think he is better positioned to beat John McCain in November, while only 32 percent think Clinton is.

[noloyalisti]

I think most Americans believe that we need some serious progressive change for this country, based on the last 30 years of conservative GOP rule.

Unfortunately, Americans have in large part lost the will to demand positive change. When Representative Murtha spoke up for redeployment of troops from Iraq, we allowed the war profiteering mainstream media to marginalize and slander him as a traitor. When Representative Conyers spoke up for impeachment, an equally popular idea, masses of people did not speak up in support.

I am afraid that when President Obama tries to propose changes, which by definition will be at the expense of the anointed corporate rich of this country, not enough people will be willing to take a strong stand for action. Not enough Americans are engaged or concerned. I guess they have been sufficiently scared by the powers that be. However, Americans should not complain about getting just what they therefore deserve.

[tbweb]

CBS Poll: 81% Say U.S. On Wrong Track

But nothing happens to this President as a result, nothing, just talk, amazing, President Bush has powers beyond reason, nothing and no one can touch him!

[dgwooster]

In December, 2000 I said to someone:
"Don''t worry. What could one person do in 4 years?"

Turns out I underestimated Bush''s resolve.

[atayr]

The Clinton%u2019s: lies and cries, those crocodile tears. Sen. McCain: capable of re-erupting and continuing the sacrifice of American bodies for barrels of oil. Self-centeredness and greed; it is a promise of more of the same. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. And yet, regardless of what I might say or do, I go on proving I''m a shameless fool...which is clearly for the enlightened to see.

[brianbwb-2009]

HOW?......"PULL ALL STOPS OUT" Stay tuned Posted by dumbshun


Ahh, back to the genocide advocate we all know.

Why should we fight a war against a nation that never attacked, or threatened us, that had no WMDs, or bio-weapons, so for what cause are we killing those people?

Since there is no real cause, there can be no real victory. This "war" was lost before it began,because it was started based on lies, so no amount of dead Iraqis will create a victory from a lie.

[rick_harsch]

Polls = nothing. Depending on the types of questions and how the people analyze the answers, you can get polls to say anything. I just saw an ABC poll that says that 97% of people say that CBS polls are wrong.

[rick_harsch]

Recession? Just a bunch of liberal media hype to try to get a Democrat into the White House. It was the same whining when Bill Clinton was first running against Bush Senior. We have 95% employment and the media is crying disaster.

[marcosis78]

I agree, this congress is doing nothing, but nothing is better than the republican lead congress/house/oval office we had before that, that put us in this situation. You cant expect then to do everything at once and make it all peachy kean. What Bush and his congressional pirates have done is going to take more than 2 years to fix.

[ioweign]

Nothing like $100M in advertising about how bad it is to affect the national psyche.

Posted by donbl1 at 09:12 PM : Apr 04, 2008


At least it is not being white washed by Feith and is being spent in the USA...

[newsterl]

"CBS Poll: 81% Say U.S. On Wrong Track"

Been saying that for years, that 19% must be the bush regime''s fundy religious reich wingers

[bsimon2007]

So, wait... 4% STILL say things are better now than five years ago.

Does the Bush family make up 4% of the total US population?

[donbl1]

If the Democratic primary drags on much longer we will have 100% thinking the country is on the wrong track.

Nothing like $100M in advertising about how bad it is to affect the national psyche.

Another statistic today, 72% think they are "personally" fairly good or very good financially.

The only reason to have that dichotomy of statistics is the negative advertising which makes us think everyone else must be in the bread line..... but we aren''t.

[michellem99-2009]

America is down the wrong road. It will get worse.
The haves vs the have nots
Rich vs the poor
It is worse today.
Money talks and bs walks.
Govt vs the people.

[lugarbow]

Have news for you, the country is 100% headed in the wrong direction. Someday the fat cats will figure this out after they have been taken down by the middle and lower class.

[bgwinnett]

The fed Printed off $30 Billion Dollars to cover Bears liabilities, otherwise JP would have avoided them like the Plague. BTW don''t get me on about Fannie Mae, just as bad.

[bgwinnett]

bgwinnett ...
Bear Stearns was not bailed out you are correct,
but the Government did secure loans using taxpayer money for the transaction........

Posted by Quetzal0666 at 07:09 PM : Apr 04, 2008

Sorry the quote was some else''s I was laughing at. Totally agree with you.

[quetzal0666]

bgwinnett ...
Bear Stearns was not bailed out you are correct,
but the Government did secure loans using taxpayer money for the transaction........

[minnick8-2009]

Well, I grew up in a pioneer house and as the American dream goes, I don''t have a lot. I''m already at the bottom of ravine, so I don''t have far to fall, but I might be crushed. To all who want to see America fall, as we fall, so goes the world. Don''t think there won''t be any "trickle down," effects.

[hungry1968]

So who did CBS poll anyway? I wasn''''t asked. Did a reporter step outside of the CBS studio in NY and ask 100 left wing Easterners from New York? If that is who was polled, of course, the results were 81 percent left wing.

Posted by minnick8 at 06:37 PM : Apr 04, 2008




I think they went to a GOP convention. That''s the only way that it could only be as low as 81%.

[bgwinnett]

81% Say U.S. On Wrong Track.
Yeah and the American Economic Train is about to be hit by an Avalanche when it crosses the Rockies, caused by helicopter Ben Bernake skiing on an Avalanche alert when he shouldn''t have been. The US won''''t be on the wrong track then, it will tumbling down a Ravine and into the valley, hopefully somewhere near Aspen.