The US Mood: Gloomy

[Surprise, Surprise!] The Public Has NO faith in U.S. Institutions

“People feel like nothing in the country is working—the president, Congress, corporations.”

The global economic crisis has shattered the public’s faith in U.S. institutions, and dampened their confidence about the future, according to a new Reuters/Zogby poll.

The Reuters/Zogby Index, a measure of “the mood of the country,” fell to 89.7 in October from 96.3 percent in September, when 7 of the 10 indicators of “public opinion used in the index dropped.”

[Swapping Dirty Jokes!] President George W. Bush and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi share a toast at the official dinner honoring Berlusconi at the White House in Washington October 13, 2008.  REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque. Image may be subject to copyright.

President [sic] George W. Bush’s job performance rating nosedived to a record low of 21 percent and the approval rating for U.S. Congress fell to 10 percent, near its all-time low.

“It’s a double-whammy—people are concerned about today and they are worried about tomorrow,” said pollster John Zogby, who likened the public mood to the early years of the Great Depression.

“It is safe to say this is the worst crisis in confidence in this country since 1932,” Zogby said. “People feel like nothing in the country is working—the president, Congress, corporations.”

Only 18 percent of the Americans believe the country is on the right track (down from 25 percent last month).

Approval ratings for the Bush administration’s foreign and economic policy nosedived to 7 percent (from 13 percent). More …

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