When more than 1,500 American citizens were asked how they felt about the direction of the country during the first two weeks in June, Gallup noted on Monday that 38 percent of them said they “are satisfied with the way things are going in the United States today.” This is the highest percentage recorded since September 2005.
Notable was that satisfaction among people surveyed by Gallup was just 22 percent going into the November 2016 elections. In addition, the satisfaction rate measured by Gallup has now topped 35 percent three times this year, “a level reached only three times in the previous 12 years,” according to the pollster.
Also notable was that the gains were among Republicans. In the previous survey conducted in April, only 29 percent of whom were satisfied, and among independents, only 25 percent of whom were satisfied with the country’s direction. Democrats, on the other hand, were steadfastly, determinedly negative in their assessment, with just 13 percent expressing satisfaction with the country’s direction in both polls.
Gallup surmised that its satisfaction index was so high because “the United States continues to enjoy a nine-year-long economic expansion.”
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The positive news about the economy continues to pile up. Job creation continues to exceed forecasters’ predictions, unemployment is at record lows, manufacturing and construction industries continue to flourish (with housing starts jumping to near an 11-year high as reported by Reuters on Tuesday, the latest ISM (Institute for Supply Management) manufacturing index exceeding Wall Street estimates, and construction spending showing a monthly gain of 1.8 percent (one full percentage point higher than expectations).
The future looks brighter as well, with the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDPNow tracker estimating that GDP growth in the second quarter (ending June 30) coming in close to five percent on an annualized basis.
That satisfaction level reported by Gallup was confirmed by Rasmussen Reports on Monday, noting that in its own poll that 43 percent of Americans think the country is headed in the right direction, up from 36 percent a year ago.
All of which is being reflected in Trump’s own numbers. In a separate poll released on Monday by Gallup, the president is “earning his highest approval rating since shortly after he took office.” His approval rating hit 45 percent, matching the president’s highest rating touched nine days after his inauguration. Gallup’s results were also confirmed by Rasmussen Reports, which reported on Monday that 48 percent of likely U.S. voters approve of his performance.
Taken together this bodes well for Republicans in the upcoming November midterm elections. As James Carville, Bill Clinton’s campaign advisor in 1992, reminded the Democrat candidate to tell his audiences: “It’s the economy, stupid!”
An Ivy League graduate and former investment advisor, Bob is a regular contributor to The New American magazine and blogs frequently at LightFromTheRight.com, primarily on economics and politics. He can be reached at [email protected].
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