Americans Claim Happiness, Now Let's Fix the Country

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"My husband and I are happy," said Murray, 46, a homemaker from Montpelier, Miss. "We just wish we could buy more into the American dream."

The United States is facing a new political front next year but can the general unease that the country is headed in the wrong direction last that long?

When questioned, 88 per cent of Democrats and 62 per cent of Republicans think that the country is on the wrong track. That's roughly three-quarters of all Americans who feel uneasy with the direction in which their country is heading.

Almost half of those surveyed expressed hope and interest for the future elections, but there's frustration brewing and it's largely coming from the Republican sector.

The AP-Yahoo! News survey will track voters' perspectives from now until next year's election, with more than 2,000 people being repeatedly asked about their views of the country, candidates and the hot-button issues. Knowledge Networks is conducting the polling and allowing the AP and Yahoo to track the results.

So far, people in the States are paying attention to what the candidates have to say -- a solid majority believe their vote matters and that 2008's election matters more than ones in the past.

There is a warning, though, for the Republicans: The Democrats are fed-up with seven years of Bush rule, and eager to get some new heads in the Oval Office.

While Republicans say the election leaves them frustrated and bored, the Dems can't wait to get to the polls.

As AP-Yahoo News reports:

"There's no one out there to vote for," Rocky Belcher, 43, a Republican and college professor from Vandalia, Ohio, said about the GOP field. "That means a lot of Republicans may not get out there to vote."

It seems it doesn't matter how happy someone is when it comes to the Democratic nominee -- they are more likely to vote this time a round. That in itself gives the Democrats a 2 to 1 opening lead.

When it comes to the issues, there is a large divide between the two parties. The Democrats tend to list the economy and health care followed by the Iraq War as priorities. Republicans, on the other hand, have three equal issues; terrorism, the economy and Iraq.

As AP-Yahoo News reports:

"That's ridiculous," said Joseph Lyon a 22-year-old Republican from Houston, who begins serving with the Marines early next year. "They come here to live and expect us to assimilate to them. It's our country."

"We need change, just something that's completely different," said Jenny Walsh, 28, a Democrat and convenience store manager. "It's just slowly going downhill."

"Something's gotten out of synch between what we make and what things cost," said Sandra Dempsey, 47, a child-care provider in Jonesboro, Ga. "Slowly but surely the middle class is becoming the lower class."

"We have illegal immigrants coming in, they work for cheaper and that keeps black folks out of jobs," said Charlie Burnette, 56, a mechanic from Durham, N.C.

Democrats are more likely to approve of marijuana smoking than Republicans, but most think heavy drinking and "stealing" files online is wrong.

The online survey of 2,230 adults was conducted Nov. 2 to Nov. 12 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

The total number of Democrats was 1,049 and a total of 827 Republicans.

As AP-Yahoo News reports:

This Internet survey uses Knowledge Networks' online panel, which is nationally representative because people are first contacted using traditional telephone polling methods, and then followed with online interviews. People selected for the study who do not already have Internet access are provided with it for free.