… Battered by an economy that is only slow recovering — and soured by the spectacle of Washington dysfunction in the “fiscal cliff” debate — views of the nation’s future and its fundamental promise have darkened in the four years since Barack Obama’s first inauguration. Then, even during an unfolding […] Read more »
Public sours on what 2013 will bring
Public expectations about the year ahead are bleaker than they’ve been in more than a decade, with Republicans leading the way in adopting gloomier outlooks, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. A bare 53 percent majority of all Americans are “hopeful” about their lives in 2013; some 44 […] Read more »
What Election Day bounce? Voters’ outlook falls to Earth
Forget the post-Election Day tradition of a more upbeat America in the weeks after voters go to the polls and make clear what they want from their leaders. A new McClatchy-Marist poll finds that people are gloomy about the economy and Washington’s ability to make it better anytime soon. [cont.] […] Read more »
Obama approval rises postelection, most expect 2nd term economic improvement
A month after the bitterly fought election, President Barack Obama has his highest approval ratings since the killing of Osama bin Laden, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll, and more Americans say the nation is heading in the right direction now than at any time since the start of his […] Read more »
Improved feelings about direction of U.S. boosted voter confidence in Obama
Despite talk of Mitt Romney’s momentum in the final weeks of the presidential campaign, Barack Obama cruised to a wide Electoral Vote victory and his popular-vote margin wound up closely mirroring George W. Bush’s 2004 victory. In fact, voter confidence in the president consistently improved as Election Day neared and […] Read more »
Majority of Americans Are Upbeat About the Next Four Years
A majority of Americans believe the country will be better off four years from now, while 41% say it will be worse. But this level of optimism is down considerably from four years ago, following President Barack Obama’s first election victory, when 65% said the country would be better off […] Read more »