April 19, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The vast majority of people in the United States are displeased with the way things are going in their country, according to a poll by Gallup. 83 per cent of respondents are dissatisfied with the current state of affairs, up 10 points since January.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The vast majority of people in the United States are displeased with the way things are going in their country, according to a poll by Gallup. 83 per cent of respondents are dissatisfied with the current state of affairs, up 10 points since January.

George W. Bush—a Republican—earned a second four-year term in the November 2004 presidential election. The U.S. president’s approval rating has not surpassed the 40 per cent mark in a national survey since December 2006. Bush is ineligible for a third term in office. The next U.S. presidential election is scheduled for Nov. 4. 

Since last year, defaults on so-called subprime mortgages—credit given to high-risk borrowers—have caused volatility in domestic and financial markets and raised concerns that the U.S. economy could fall into a recession.

On Apr. 16, Pope Benedict XVI visited the U.S. for the first time since he was elected three years ago. Bush received him in the White House, and told him: "In a world where some treat life as something to be debased and discarded, we need your message that all human life is sacred and that each of us is willed, each of us is loved, and each of us is necessary." The U.S. president also told Pope Benedict that Americans require a role model like him to "distinguish between simple right and wrong," adding, "We need your message to reject this dictatorship of relativism and embrace a culture of justice and truth."

Polling Data

In general, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time?

	Apr. 2008	Mar. 2008	Feb. 2008	Jan. 2008
Satisfied	15%	19%	20%	24%
Dissatisfied	83%	80%	78%	73%

Source: Gallup
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,021 American adults, conducted from Apr. 6 to Apr. 9, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.