Gallup: Only 25 percent of US is satisfied with country’s direction

A quarter of U.S. adults are satisfied with the way things are going in the United States, according to the latest poll by Gallup.

Twenty-five percent of respondents agreed that they were, in general, “satisfied … with the way things are going in the United States at this time.” Seventy-three percent of respondents reproted being dissatisfied.

{mosads}The low level of satisfaction is still the highest result since July of last year, when 28 percent of respondents were satisfied. It is also a marked improvement from the recent low of 16 percent satisfaction during the government shutdown in October.

The slight recovery from the October low matches the trend of similar Gallup polls measuring the nation’s confidence. For instance, the firm’s Economic Confidence Index has recovered from an October low of -35 to -16. 

Unsurprisingly, satisfaction differs along political lines. Democrats are most satisfied with the country’s direction, with 40 percent expressing satisfaction, compared to 21 percent of independents and 12 percent of Republicans.

Americans’ satisfaction with the country’s direction has generally been low since the later days of the Bush administration. The 33 percent who were satisfied in November 2012, just prior to Barack Obama’s reelection, is the highest in the past four years, and no poll has topped 40 percent satisfaction since July of 2005. 

Gallup’s survey was conducted with a sample of 1,048 adults, with a margin of error of plsu or minus 4 percentage points. The poll was conducted from March 6-9.