Amid Fears, Trust In Obama

Americans see the economy as a fundamentally different beast than the one inhabited by their parents, according to a new poll from National Journal and FD. 64 percent of adults say the economy is nowadays riskier, and, as Ron Brownstein points out, fears about financial security are rampant

At the same time, the poll backs up a recent AP finding that Americans think the country is headed in the right direction--by a margin of 47 percent to 42 percent--the first time in five years that that's been the case, FD CEO Edward Reilly noted during the poll's unveiling at National Journal this morning.


The political test for Obama will be force, not velocity, per se--is he exerting the right forces on the nation, pushing it in the right direction, or isn't he? The disconnect between economic woes and Obama's popularity indicated that, while things are bad, people think he's the right person to be in charge. The fact that people see themselves in a new economy--fundamentally different from the previous generation's--could mean Obama will be held to different standards for some time to come.