81 percent of Americans think country on "wrong track"

[UpInArms]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four out of five Americans believe things are "on the wrong track" in the United States, the gloomiest outlook in about 20 years, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll released on Thursday.

The poll found that 81 percent of respondents felt "things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track." That was up from 69 percent last year and 35 percent in early 2003.

Only 4 percent of survey respondents said the country was better off than it was five years ago, while 78 percent said it was worse, the newspaper said.

The Times said Americans were more unhappy with the country's direction than at any time since the survey started in the early 1990s.

<snip>

Those surveyed said individuals, not financial institutions, should get government help. The paper said a clear majority told pollsters they did not want the government to lend a hand to banks, even if the measures would help limit the severity of a recession.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0348141520080404?sp=true

[olddad56]

1. and the other 19% are right winged millionaires

[Art_from_Ark]

2. But yet close to 50%

will probably vote to keep it on the wrong track :banghead:

[bow-tie]

3. "So?" n/t

[Hissyspit]

5. Um, something wrong with that.

Legitimate questions - what is the disconnect with Americans? Why do they continually vote against their own self-interest? What is so dysfunctional with American society that that occurs?

Welcome to DU. Please bring some progressive and liberal ideals with you, as this is a progressive and liberal discussion board. The people who have been here for most of the history of the board have been well aware of this phenomenon and have debated about it and wondered what could be done about if for the past 7 years. Seemingly flippant one-word responses from people they don't know very well are not very effective.

[barb162]

8. The disconnect, I think, is the personality of the candidates.

Kerry was the superior candidate but a lot of people viewed him as elitist and waffling. People tend to vote on personality, how they like the person, etc., v. their economic interest. Reagan was the perfect example of Mr. Personality. He didn't know what he was doing but people loved him for his personality.

[calimary]

10. Perhaps there was some satire tucked in there a little - see post 4. BTW - Welcome to DU, bow-tie!

Unless, of course, you're tucker carlson. If THAT's the case, I take it all back, and may I please personally escort you to the nearest woodshed?

[crim son]

17. The poster is quoting Cheney.

It's a joke.

[Hissyspit]

30. Oops.

Now you'd think THAT wouldn't have gone over my head!

[darkstar]

19. I think that was a Cheney quote n/t

[speedingbullet]

25. Many voters are Ill-informed

I think the disconnect is that many voters are shockingly dumb. I heard someone say in 2000 that she was voting for Bush because he had been President before. Others not voting for Kerry in 2004 because he would ban hunting and the Pledge of Allegiance.

[bow-tie]

33. Sarcasm re: Cheney "So?"

Sorry I didn't make it plainer.

[libodem]

4. Yeah

So?

[Peace Patriot]

6. This angers me so much!

81% of American think the country is on the wrong track.

80% think Bush is a douchebag.

80% also think Congress is bunch of douchebags.

We have an unprecedented, epochal anti-war majority of 70%...

And STILL the American people cannot get their will enforced on the war or any other issue.

What is wrong with this picture? We hold elections in 2006, and they fucking ESCALATE the war!

That whopping 70% antiwar majority is up from a significant majority of 56% opposed to the war from the beginning (Feb. '03 - NYT poll; other polls 54-55%) that our political establishment thumbed its nose at--and passed the electronic voting bill to suppress--fast-tracking voting machines, all over the country, run on 'trade secret,' proprietary programming code, owned and controlled by rightwing Bushite corporations, with virtually no audit/recount controls.

You wonder why the American people can't get their will enforced? That's why. Our will has been systematically and deliberately blockaded.

[zalinda]

7. And it won't change with the two losers

we have running in the dem party. Even if by some miracle one of them gets in, nothing will change. The media picked the two weakest candidates for the dems to run. Pity!

zalinda

[mwb970]

18. Just out of curiosity, who do you feel were the two *strongest* Dem candidates?

Edwards, maybe? Who else was truly viable? These two seem fairly "strong" to me, but maybe I'm missing something.

[zalinda]

26. Edwards or Biden

with Obama or Clinton running as VPs. If either Obama or Clinton were VP of a successful Presidency, they would have a walk in the election. No one would be saying that a black man or a woman couldn't handle the Presidency, because they would have seen as Presidential material for 8 years already.

I don't think this country is as liberal as you want to believe. I grew up in Detroit, and while the south was overt in their racism and sexism, the north is not. And, believe me it exists, especially in the cities as white men, black men and women of all colors compete for the same jobs and/or places in college. There is a deep anger in the older white Americans who saw their chance of promotion go down the tubes because the law said there had to be so many women or blacks working in a company. And, many companies hired black women because they got a twofer.

Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania are states where there will be the most trouble, as these are the places where jobs lost will have to be blamed on someone, and Mexicans are still thought of as farm workers in those states. White collar workers can still be magnanimous as they are still mostly white men in places of authority, and women (of any color) are still held down to subordinate positions. But, bring it into the blue collar area, and you will have a fight like you never saw before. McCain will get in.

Oh, and you wonder why the repubs win elections and people vote against their own best interests? Bootstraps. Repubs put out that people should pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. Code: don't give non-whites or women the jobs that would have gone to white men, if the law was fair.

zalinda

[destes]

21. I totally agree

.................and if they aren't able to lose the election on their own, the corporations control enough voting machines to clinch the 'very close' race with McCain.

Hope, by itself, is a pretty weak position for the powerless to ride on, but I'm afraid that's the only tool available to overhaul this unresponsive federal government.

[madrchsod]

9. they do what is best for them...not us

[raccoon]

20. Exactly, they do what the power elite wants, not what the average Americans want.

Which is why we don't have a national health plan.

Any real change comes from the grass roots. Think of the anti-slavery movement, the Civil Rights movement, the women's movement. It's always been that way and I guess it always will.

[Skittles]

11. 81% of Americans think 19% of Americans are dumber than fence posts

yes INDEED

[Kablooie]

12. We're on the right track. But we aren't on the train. JUMP!

[Eagle_Eye]

13. Republicans only make things worse

We need to vote for the Democratic candidate for President.

[Ian David]

14. And the other 19% of Americans fingerpaint on the walls with their own feces. n/t

[Hugin]

28. ...

Hey, I get good money!

:rofl:

[SpiralHawk]

15. "Who cares what you think?" - Commander AWOL Bush

[underpants]

16. Most prefer Talledaga to Bristol

:sarcasm:

[tanyev]

22. Of course it is. Look who's driving the car.

[MadinMo]

23. CNN poll on this subject

CNN has a poll on this very subject --- down the page on the right.

http://www.cnn.com/

[Massachusetts]

24. 92.89% of Americans polled think the sky is blue

No duh!

[Hugin]

27. I wasn't even aware the Titanic was a train...

*tsk* How about that... :scratcheshead:

[jzodda]

29. I would love to talk to that 19%

and find out what they are smoking and where I could get some

[ckramer]

31. Vote him once fool on you; vote him twice...

WTF?

[NaturalHigh]

32. Who are the other 19%...

and under what rock have they been hiding?

[poppysgal]

34. A wake up call

hopefully that same 81 percent will vote. :hi:

[ckramer]

35. At least 81 percent of Americans should have used their head in 2004

This is the subprime mess of politics.