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

CBS/NY Times Poll Shows Americans Deeply Concerned About Economy

(CBS)  Both Democrats are polling ahead of McCain in potential general election match-ups. Obama leads McCain 47 percent to 42 percent, while Clinton fares equally well, leading 48 percent to 43 percent if the election were held today.

All three presidential candidates are seen as sharing the values that Americans try to live by, and none more so than Obama, who leads all three candidates by this measure. Seventy percent say Obama shares Americans' values, 60 percent say Clinton does and 66 percent say the same for McCain.

On the broader issue of national unity, Obama is the only candidate seen by a majority of voters (59 percent) as someone who would unite the country. By comparison, 51 percent say that Hillary Clinton would not be able to do so, while voters are divided on whether McCain would succeed in unifying the country.

Race Relations And Politics

Forty years after the assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Americans have a more positive view of race relations than they did nearly two decades ago. A majority (55 percent) of Americans think race relations in the U.S. are generally good now, while 36 percent think they are bad.

Views of race relations in this poll reached a low point in 1992, just after riots erupted in Los Angeles after the acquittal of police officers accused of beating Rodney King. But there continues to be a racial divide, with African-Americans holding more negative views about the state of race relations than whites do. Just 42 percent of blacks think race relations are generally good now, while 46 percent think they are bad.

Black perceptions of race relations have improved since 2000, while the perceptions of whites are unchanged since then. The presence of a viable African-American candidate may have helped improve black perceptions, but voters are not in agreement as to whether Obama's campaign has brought blacks and whites together. Thirty percent think his campaign has done so, but 22 percent think it has pushed blacks and whites further apart.

In comparison, few voters think Clinton's campaign has brought blacks and whites together, and 20 percent think it has pushed the two races further apart. Those who think her campaign has pushed the races apart tend to be Obama supporters.

Looking ahead to the fall, voters don’t expect either Clinton or McCain to have much impact on race relations if either were elected president. However, voters do think Barack Obama would have an impact, with 34 percent predicting he would make race relations better. But one in five thinks his impact would be negative.

Most voters have heard or read about the controversy surrounding statements made by Obama's pastor Jeremiah Wright, and most have also heard or read about Obama's speech on race relations.

While the impact of the Wright issue on views of Obama is negative, the impact of Obama’s speech on race is positive and has perhaps offset some of the negative impact of the Wright issue. Thirty-six percent say that Wright's statements have caused them to have a less favorable view of Obama while 62 percent say they have made no difference.

It is primarily white voters whose views of Obama have become more negative as a result of Wright’s statements, though 58 percent of whites say the statements did not affect their views. Most blacks say they had no effect on their opinion of the candidate.

By two to one, voters say Obama's speech on race in America has made their view of him more favorable rather than less favorable. Both black and white voters responded more favorably than unfavorably to Obama’s speech on race, although most said the speech had no impact on their views of Obama.

[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.