Americans' attitude about the nation's future has steadily recovered in recent weeks. Happy days are not yet here again. But from the course of the country to the economy, polls show the public's mood is decidedly better now than at any point in the past year.
The public's satisfaction with the direction of the country is the highest it has been since April 2007, according to Gallup tracking. Only 26 percent of Americans say they are satisfied today. But a mere 15 percent expressed satisfaction in mid-February. A third of Americans now believe the economy is improving, twice the portion who were optimistic in mid-January.
Americans now seem to believe that the worst is behind them. A slim majority of Americans, 52 percent, agreed that the U.S. economy has stabilized. Last month hardly more than a third said the same. Pessimism has also dwindled. Today, only 36 percent of the public believe the worst is yet to come. Last month, 57 percent said the same, according to Ipsos/McClatchy polls.
A CBS News/New York Times poll reported last week that only 39 percent of Americans "feel things in this country are generally going in the right direction." While still low, that's the highest "right direction" result since February 2005. Rasmussen polling records a similar trend, finding that more Americans believe that the nation is heading in the right direction than any time since 2004. Consumer confidence has also reached its highest point in the past year, according to Gallup.
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http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/04/13/american_optimism_makes_a_comeback.html
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