Poll: Economic confidence in nosedive

{mosads}CNN and ORC International also found that about three-quarters of Americans believe conditions are pretty bad or very bad, the worst findings since October 2010. And the poll also reported that the country was roughly divided over the debt-ceiling deal Congress passed last week.

In announcing the U.S. credit-rating downgrade Friday, S&P cited partisan gridlock in Washington as one of its major concerns.

But the CNN poll also found broad differences between Democrats and Republicans on the direction of the country.

Seven out of 10 Republicans and two-thirds of independents, for instance, believe the economy is in a nosedive, while 44 percent of Democrats think that’s the case.

Democrats (69 percent) were also much more likely to back the debt-ceiling deal than their GOP counterparts (36 percent), while Republicans were more than twice as likely (65 percent to 30 percent) to believe that the measure’s spending cuts did not go far enough.