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“The Public’s Not-So-Happy New Year’”

Jan 7th, 2008 • Posted in: Research Report

Poll finds sinking expectations for the coming year

From the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press:

“The American public begins the new year with a highly negative view of national conditions and tempered expectations for 2008. Half of Americans say that as far as they are concerned, 2008 will be a better year than 2007, while 34% say it will be worse. In December 2006, and in several end-of-year surveys during the 1990s, there was greater optimism about the coming year.

“Public views of the state of the nation are even less positive than people’s personal expectations for the coming year. Just 27% say they are satisfied with national conditions, while 66% are dissatisfied. Positive views of the state of the nation have been mired at about 30% for most of the past two years….

“President Bush’s approval rating also remains at a low point at the start of his final year in office. Just 31% approve of the president’s job performance, while 60% disapprove. Bush’s approval rating has been below 40% since February 2006.

“The latest national survey … finds that the public is looking forward to the presidential election much more than several other major events on the 2008 calendar. Fully 70% say they are especially looking forward to the November election…. [T]his is slightly more than say they are looking forward to the Olympics (52%) or the Super Bowl (49%), and far more than are anticipating the World Series and the Academy Awards….

“A plurality of Americans (23%) cite Iraq as the single most important news event of 2007, but significantly fewer named Iraq as the year’s top event than did so in 2006 (34%). Pew surveys have shown that public attentiveness to the war, which was extensive early in 2007, declined later in the year.

“Aside from Iraq, no single event stood out in the public’s view as the most important in 2007. Overall, 4% volunteered natural disasters and the weather and 3% cited the home mortgage crisis, with smaller numbers naming other stories….”