Past Elections

2008 Election 2004 Election

Direction of the Country Pre Obama and Now

1/7/2010, by Proloy Bhatta

HIGHLIGHTS

Before Obama took office, 24% said the US was headed in the right direction.
Now, 38% say we are headed in the right direction.
During that span, wrong track has dropped from 66% to 57%.

As the new year begins, it is natural to reflect on the past and dream about the future.

When Obama took the oath of office, the mood of the country was dire. Just a quarter of adults felt the country was headed in the right direction -- two-thirds felt the country was headed in the wrong track.

Pollster	Date	Right Direction	Wrong Track
AVERAGE		24%	66%
Daily Kos	1/19-22/09	34	58
NBC WSJ	1/9-12/09	26	59
AP GFK	1/9-14/09	35	54
USA Today Gallup	12/4-7/08	10	68
CBS NYT	1/11-15/09	15	79
Ipsos	11/6-9/08	32	64
ABC Washington Post	1/13-16/09	19	78

After about a year in office, the mood has improved slightly. Now, almost four-in-ten Americans feel the country is headed in the right direction, a jump of 14%.

Pollster	Date	Right Direction	Wrong Track
AVERAGE		38%	57%
Daily Kos	12/27-31/09	40	58
NBC WSJ	12/11-14/09	33	55
AP GFK	12/10-14/09	46	50
USA Today Gallup	12/11-13/09	25	73
CBS NYT	12/4-8/09	37	56
Bloomberg	12/3-7/09	32	59
Marist	12/2,3&7/09	46	46
Ipsos	12/3-6/09	36	60
ABC Washington Post	11/12-15/09	44	55

This could all just be a matter of Americans being hopeful about the future now that Bush is no longer in office than it has to do with real improvements to the direction of the country.

One common argument Democrats have used against voting for Republicans is "look at the mess they put us in". But the latest poll by Rasmussen Reports shows Republicans with a 9% lead in the generic 2010 ballot -- their largest lead ever. So that argument does not appear to be working.

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