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Optimism high for few saying US moving right way

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-21 17:15

WASHINGTON – They're almost an endangered species, the dwindling number of people who say the country is heading in the right direction. But they're out there.

The way they see it, the US has come through tough times before and will do it again.

Fewer than one in seven, or 15 percent, say the country is on the right path, according to the latest Associated Press-Yahoo News poll of adults. In these economically tough times, they tend to be older, less educated, conservative and supporters of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

"Things go in cycles. Even when things are at their worst, there's still an upturn" afterward, said Paula Fortin, 63, a retired bank supervisor from Marysville, Wash., who said in the survey that things are going the right way. "We're still living at a higher level than most other countries in the world."

Since last fall, the AP-Yahoo News poll, conducted by Knowledge Networks, has tracked how the same group of about 2,000 voters has reacted to the presidential campaign and other events.

Just last month, nearly three in 10 said the country was on the right course. That figure has declined sharply, tracking the catastrophic financial problems of recent weeks and widespread expectations of a serious recession.

"We're faltering a little bit," said Tom Waters, 24, a sales trainer from Brooklyn, N.Y. "But America has proven itself when things were more serious. I know times can be tough, but we'll find our way again."

The poll shows a relationship between people's views of the country and their own lives. Sixty-nine percent of those saying the US is heading the right way report being happy in their own lives, while 52 percent of those sensing the country is on the wrong track are happy personally.

In addition, 41 percent of right-track people report difficulties getting ahead financially these days — compared with 68 percent of wrong-track people.

"For us personally, things are going very well," said Hilary Smith, 29, a substitute teacher from Mattoon, Ill., who owns some rental properties with her husband and sees the country heading the right way. "My parents always say that we're the exception to the rule, but we're very hard workers."

Of those in the poll taking an optimistic view, 52 percent are age 50 and up; 51 percent have no more than a high school diploma; and 43 percent attend religious services once or more each week. That exceeds the figures in each of those categories for all people surveyed.

Six in 10 right-track people are Republican and slightly more than that are conservatives, both far exceeding the national average.

Likely voters in the poll saying the country is moving the right way prefer McCain over Democrat Barack Obama by 73 percent to 25 percent. That's a decisive reversal of the 54 percent to 39 percent preference for Obama among likely voters who see the US on the wrong track.

"Most of his values are the same as mine, being fiscally responsible and not being a socialist," Norman Brewer, 68, who owns rental properties in Redding, Calif., said of McCain.

There's a strong residue of support for President Bush among right-track people in the poll. Sixty-six percent of them have favorable views of Bush, triple the positive rating he got from those saying the country is on the wrong course.

Right-track people express more positive feelings about the presidential election than the wrong-track crowd. More of them say they're interested, hopeful and excited. And while 44 percent of wrong-track people express frustration with the election, just 28 percent of right-track folks say the same.

"With the presidential election, there's been more focus on the needs of the people," said Tina Jacobsen, 41, a Danville, Calif., homemaker who sees the country moving the right way.

The AP-Yahoo News poll of 1,769 adults was conducted Oct. 3-13. It included 264 who said the country is heading in the right direction and 1,504 who said it is on the wrong track. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 6 percentage points for those saying it is moving the right way, and 2.5 points for those saying it is going the wrong way.

The poll was conducted over the Internet by Knowledge Networks, which initially contacted people using traditional telephone polling methods and followed with online interviews. People chosen for the study who had no Internet access were given it for free.