A poll finds people in the U.S. are feeling down about their country and government.

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BY HARUMENDHAH HELMY
ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

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Living in the United States and been feeling down lately? Apparently you’re not alone. A recent poll reveals the nation’s mood is at its worst in two years — and CBS suggests, the economy seems to be the main culprit.
 

“A new CBS News/New York Times poll shows Americans are growing more and more pessimistic about the economy. Eighty percent of those polled said the economy's condition is bad. Just 19 percent said it's good. Thirty nine percent said it's getting worse. Just 23 percent say it’s getting better.”
 

CNN suspects America’s bad mood could also have something to do with steadily rising gas prices, and reports -- President Barack Obama is paying attention now.
 

Reporter 1: “It’s pretty tough to feel optimistic when gas prices are the way they are. It’ll cost ya $70 to fill up the tank! 

Reporter 2: Six states and Washington, D.C. now have gas prices above $4 a gallon, if you can believe that. President Obama has certainly taken notice at this, he’s announced a new task force to look into whether there is fraud or manipulation in the oil market.”
 

Not surprisingly - this gloomy outlook is reportedly weighing down public approval of both the President and the Congress - especially on how they’re dealing with the economy. The New York Times says...
 

“...75 percent of respondents disapproved of the way Congress is handling its job. Disapproval of Mr. Obama’s handling of the economy has never been broader - at 57 percent of Americans. …for all the talk from Congressional Republicans and Mr. Obama of cutting the deficit as a way to improve the economy, only 29 percent of respondents said it would create more jobs.”

The Moderate Voice suggests — maybe the problem isn’t the economy... it’s the politics.

“Basically, it sounds as if voters are tired of politicians playing typical political games and politicians have responded with … typical political games.”

Finally, Daily Kos asks, what should be the next step?

"...the question isn't whether we should be talking about fiscal policy. The question is whether there should also be a national debate about job creation, and at least according to this poll, it seems obvious that there should be.”

The poll’s sad results were compiled from random, land line telephone interviews conducted April 15-20 (ahem, right around tax time) with 1,224 adults throughout the U.S., of whom 1,116 were registered voters.




Capturing what appears to be an abrupt change in attitude, the survey shows that the number of Americans who think the economy is getting worse has jumped 13 percentage points in just one month. Though there have been encouraging signs of renewed growth since last fall, many economists are having second thoughts, warning that the pace of expansion might not be fast enough to create significant numbers of new jobs.
http://iowntheworld.com/blog/?p=72357


(AOC)
And even more depressing - most of the respondents believe the country is simply heading in the wrong direction.

(GFX-0422Mood_Telegraph)
The Telegraph highlights “...a staggering 70 percent of Americans believe the country is moving down the ‘wrong track’, which is nearly three times more than the number who believe it is heading in the ‘right direction’ (26 percent).”
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100084817/hope-and-change-a-national-gloom-descends-over-obama%E2%80%99s-america/

Finally, The Daily Kos asks, what should be the next step?

(GFX-
“...the question isn't whether we should be talking about fiscal policy. The question is whether there should also be a national debate about job creation, and at least according to this poll, it seems obvious that there should be.”
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/22/969216/-NYT-CBS:-Economic-pessimism-soars
 

The poll’s sad results were compiled from random, land line telephone interviews conducted April 15-20 with 1,224 adults throughout the U.S., of whom 1,116 were registered voters.

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