Survey: "19% Say USA on Right Track." Who ARE These People?

The lead NY Times story yesterday is headlined: "81 Percent in Poll Say Nation Is Headed on Wrong Track" and the first paragraph tells us this is the highest number since 1992 poll (this Times/CBS News poll was first conducted in 1991) and way up from the 35 percent figure in 2002.

Hmmm...
1. The last time four-fifths of the nation was so negative about the future of the United States was in the last year of the presidency of Bush 41.
2. The percentage of people generally happy with the direction of the country has been steadily declining during the presidency of Bush 43.

The surprising thing to me is not that 81 percent are depressed and say that "things in the country have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track" but that 19 percent are not. It means that out of 233 million noninstitutionalized American adults, 44 million believe the country is "generally going in the right direction."

Think about it - 44 million noninstitutionalized adult Americans with continuing faith that our ship of state is sailing on the right course.

A puzzler is that 28 percent of those surveyed think Dubya is doing a great job, i.e., 65 million Americans. So 21 million Americans (65 million minus 44 million) think the United States is on the wrong track but Dubya does a great job. The ship is heading in the wrong direction, but the captain is a heckuva helmsman.

In fairness, the poll was taken before the BLS released the news that in the first three months of 2008 the U.S. economy had shed 232,000 jobs, which includes not only a job loss of 80,000 in March - the largest monthly decline in five years - but also major upward revisions of job losses in the previous two months. The last time we had three consecutive months of job loss was in the second quarter of 2003. If we need 100,000 new jobs a month to keep pace with population growth, the economy has a cumulative shortfall of more than half a million jobs so far this year. The unemployment data were also ominous, with the unemployment rate resuming its upward climb, rising to 5.1 percent from 4.8 percent in February.

Comments

[pbziegler]

Not a big surprise. Someone did a survey a few years ago and found that 15% of the Americans who were asked thought that Noah had been married to Joan of Arc. Its a good bet that a lot of those same folks think Bush is doing a good job and that we are heading in a great direction.

[barrista]

The 19% are those people who think saying ANYTHING remotely negative about anything American is considered unpatriotic. See those who still rail about Jeremiah Wright.

[politicky]

The military-industrial-congressional-complex is huge. They make money during wars. Have any idea what percentage of the population is surviving that way?

[tbone99]

Considering there's 150 private security agencies in Iraq alone it starts adding up .Then there's these folks:

SAIC is a leading provider of scientific, engineering, systems integration and technical services and solutions to all branches of the U.S. military, agencies of the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other U.S. Government civil agencies, as well as to customers in selected commercial markets. With approximately 44,000 employees in more than 150 cities worldwide, SAIC engineers and scientists solve complex technical challenges requiring innovative solutions for customers' mission-critical functions. SAIC had annual revenues of $8.3 billion for its fiscal year ended January 31, 2007.

[Scarabus]

Re SeriousBlack's comment, I think what you suggest might be optimistic. I suspect they might say that he's having a really good day.

Seriously, though, statistically--whatever the reason--this is probably as good for progressives and as bad for Bushies as it could possibly be. As for the reason, though, I'd point readers toward Art Levine's earlier post right here on Huff-Po. He cites a Pew survey that reveals the following: "nearly a quarter of white Democrats (23%) who hold a negative view of Obama believe he is a Muslim."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-levine/25-of-antiobama-dems-th_b_93806.html

Jefferson believed that, if we have an educated populace, then popular democracy will work in America. Obviously our populace is *not* sufficiently educated, and consequently our democracy has been moved a long way toward dictatorship. (Thanks, John Yoo!)

[BobMunck]

The majority of those people are convinced that proclaiming that the country is on the right course is the loyal or patriotic thing to do. Some of them may realize that it isn't true, but most probably have a gut feeling that *thinking* that it is is the right thing to do, so that's what they think. All of us have a significant ability to let our beliefs affect our perceptions of the world.

[batgirlevi]

These die hard fools, 'noninstitutionalized' as you call them are people who probably would be in state hospitals if they were still in existence.

They are probably the batshit crazy rapture believers who cheer for more and more war in the middle east.

[jimdog1954]

Who the hell did they survery, four-year-olds?

[gaby]

sometimes I look in the back ground shot of one of
bush''s appearances as if
i could figure out who these smiling people are, then

ii think that the audience is really large cartboard figures , sometimes

i think of ray bradbury''s movies, maybe they really are robots , what else explains it??

[dogman44]

They're the haves and the have mores. Shrubs base, them and the terminally stupid and the
unethical, amoral, and just plain evil among us.

[usna73]

Oops, you almost nailed it. You left out Laura!

[ajax2]

Who ARE These People?

Thieves, murderers, war profiteers, bigots, racists, illiterates, and other Republicans.

[demockracy]

I suggest a contest to discover what, exactly, could convince these people to change their minds. Some suggested answers:

1. Monkeys coming out of their butts.
2. Administration-sponsored home invasion robberies.
3. The voice of God himself coming from the heavens: "Bush is an asshole!"
4. A rain of frogs.
5. Global warming makes bread $200 a loaf. Bush's Middle East policies finally drive oil up to $200 a barrel.
6. The second coming.

Any other suggestions?

[doug108]

Random government searches of their homes? Nah. Probably not. They'd just say, "Hey, if you're not up to anything you have nothing to worry about."

[tbone99]

I used to hope Condi caught aborting Bush's baby might do it but I don't even think that would do it now.

[BachelorJohnnyCool]

Mr. Marlin, you said, "Think about it - 44 million noninstitutionalized adult Americans with continuing faith that our ship of state is sailing on the right course."

Sounds like there are 44 million people in this country who perhaps should be institutionalized.

[Quaoar]

Just because they're noninstitutionalized doesn't mean they're sane.

[SeriousBlack]

Good point!

[OttoMann]

Well, for the 19% (or 14%) their "logic" works this way: America is infallibly the greatest country in the world; whatever America does must therefore be the right thing; America is on the right track.

Of course, this also means America could never be on the wrong track; to admit so would be to allow the possibility that America is NOT the greatest country in the world. And that would be heresy.

You'd probably get the same results if you asked, "Is it possible, even remotely, that the religious beliefs instilled in you since childhood could, perhaps, be wrong?"

[BeeOplentee]

I think we're doing fine, and I admire our government.
OOPS! My nurse wants me to take my meds now!
Bye!

[dissolvethecorporation]

Probably the same people that send Pat Robertson money.