Thought Theater

Poll: Americans Are Unhappy Campers Right Now genre: Polispeak & Six Degrees of Speculation

The latest NBC Wall Street Journal poll indicates that voters are far from optimistic about the direction of the country as well as the prospects for the situation to improve. In an indication of the depth of the negative mood, those polled were doubtful that the situation would improve for their children. Of the 60% that feel the nation is headed in the wrong direction, some 81% believe that the problem is a longer term decline. Read the full article here.

According to the poll, 65 percent say they feel less confident that life for their children's generation will be better than it was for them.

In addition, only 27 percent think the country is headed in the right direction, while 58 percent say they are less confident the Iraq war will come to a successful conclusion.

And among those who believe that the nation is headed on the wrong track, a whopping 81 percent believe it's part of a longer-term decline and that things won't get better for some time. Just 12 percent think the problems are short-term blips.

President Bush continues to receive negative marks as the latest poll shows his job approval at 39%, a 2% increase over last month but not statistically significant. His handling of the war in Iraq continues to be a critical factor in his overall approvals. Only 34% believe he is doing a good job with the war while 61% disapprove. The war in Iraq continues to lead the list of issues of concern to voters with 29% choosing it as the top priority. That is an increase of 7% in the last 30 days...an ominous increase and a good indication that patience with the effort in Iraq continues to erode.