Optimism in Obama presidency increases

The percentage of voters believing that the country is better off since Barack Obama became president jumped seven points after the two political conventions, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Thirty-eight percent of registered voters now say the nation is better off, which is up from 31 percent in the August NBC/WSJ conducted before the conventions.

Still, a plurality of voters — 41 percent — believe the country is worse off, while 21 percent think it’s in the same place. [cont.]

Mark Murray, NBC News