NEW YORK – Americans are increasingly fearful about the direction of the country, according to the poll from Marist College’s Institute for Public Opinion. There is growing dissatisfaction with the way George W. Bush, is handling the economy.
Forty-four percent of voters nationwide said they think the country is headed in the wrong direction, up from 32 percent who felt that way in a Marist poll conducted in January. In the January poll, 56 percent of voters felt the nation was headed in the right direction. That is down to 41 percent, according to the Poughkeepsie-based pollsters.
When it comes to whether the former first lady should run for the White House someday, only 30 percent of voters now say she should, down from 46 percent in January.
The new poll did find that 36 percent of voters still feel Clinton will run for the White House in 2004, little changed from the 39 percent who felt that way in the January poll. Almost half the voters surveyed, about the same as in January, said they believe her pledge to serve out her full six-year term in the Senate. She was elected in November.
Forty-four percent of voters nationwide think Clinton will be a good senator for New York, down from 59 percent in January.
On Bush’s handling of the economy, 42 percent of voters said they are now uneasy about how he is doing. Just 34 percent expressed such reservations in the January poll. Forty-seven percent of voters say they still have confidence in his economic stewardship, down from 53 percent.
On foreign policy, 52 percent of voters were confident about Bush’s leadership, statistically unchanged from January. His overall job approval remained at 50 percent.
The telephone poll of 813 registered voters was conducted March 22, 25 and 26 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
