Many times they say survey results depend upon the right question. These are the right questions.
All in all,
are you satisfied or dissatisfied
with the way things are going
in the United States at this time?
December, 2000 - 51% satisfied
June, 2008 - 14% satisfied
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey – July 23-27, 2008
“How well are things going in the country today: very well, fairly well, pretty badly or very badly?”
NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll – July 18-21, 2008
“All in all, do you think things in the nation are generally headed in the right direction, or do you feel that things are off on the wrong track?”
Associated Press-Ipsos poll – July 10-14, 2008
“Generally speaking, would you say things in this country are heading in the right direction, or are they off on the wrong track?”
Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll. June 19-23, 2008
“Do you think things in this country are generally going in the right direction or are they seriously off on the wrong track?”
Newsweek Poll – June 18-19, 2008
“Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time?”
Gallup Poll – June 9-12, 2008.
“In general, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time?”
The Harris Poll – June 4-8, 2008
“Generally speaking, would you say things in the country are going in the right direction or have they pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track?”
CBS News/New York Times Poll – March 28-April 2, 2008
“I’d like you to compare the way things are going in the United States to the way they were going five years ago. Generally, would you say things are going better today, worse today, or about the same today as they were going five years ago?”