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

[tompoe]

During the Clinton years, the country sprouted 13 million jobs. During the Bush years, it's estimated the country will sprout 3 million jobs. Thank God for tax cuts for the wealthy, eh?

[Thatcher]

Actually, only 14% said we are on the right track (5% either undecided or refused to answer) ... which really puts the Bush job approval of 28% in even more question ... but, you have to understand ... it will be very difficult for Bush to get a lower approval rating. Die-hard supporters are just that - and they usually hover around 25-30%, historically. Those folks would be the type who (like in your article) would blame anyone BUT the captain of the Titanic while they were all fighting for lifeboats.

[SeriousBlack]

Yep--I am convinced that there are about 25% of the population who would still think dubya is a good president if he ran down Pennsylvania Avenue naked, strangling random people to death. "Oh, he's just having a bad day!" they would say. :)

[anelder]

Agreed - add to that many of them are military people who are indoctrimated with a military code of honor. I'm all for that code - in the military - one needs something to believe to walk into death. But - it's not a code that transfers out of the military. Unless we want facism. I'm sympathetic with these people who find the transition difficult.

They are the same ones who see whistle blowers negatively - not me. They are the brave and patriotic. members among us.

Than for sure there are the good old boys. They really don't know where their freedoms come from. They just cannot see anything that does not directly concern them. When they do, they are the first to take up the clubs.

Then there are those that make up their minds practically at birth. What daddy or maybe mama preached. Who knows? Seriously - I have the dearest of a relative in his/her nineties who decided at age eighteen what straight ticket to follow and has never deviated.

But remember - we have a percentage on the left of the political spectrum who will never approve of anything in government - ever, ever, ever.

[Gibbons]

These people are the sponges that soak up all the Bush propaganda. I am heartened that there are ONLY nineteen percent.

[lisakaz]

Fair to ask. People who are CEOs or who work for those MIC companies? Apocalyptic televangists thinking a ratings bonanza is heading their way? The mentally ill? Limbaugh listeners who think 9/11 and Eye-rak are Clinton's fault (and Bu$h's victory is any day now)?

Too bad no one polled Berliners in April 1945 to see how Hitler was doing. Probably would still see some holding onto the "dream."

[dogman44]

From what I've read about the fall of Germany and the battle for Berlin, there were quite a few,
(given the circumstances), that still supported their fuhrer and his pathology. And worse yet,
the pathology is still with us. Many of the people who support Bush, actually believe in Armageddon. What better way to get there than through Bush and McCrazy.

[Thorn]

I totally agree. It would be so much better if 100 percent of the people were in lockstep about absolutely everything.

[gallstones]

Yea, like rational thought and reason.

[Thorn]

Right. "Rational thought and reason." Isn't there more redundancy you could introduce? In any case, you're right. One-hundred percent lockstep is fantastic.