And the perception that the country is not moving in the right direction was more pervasive than in January, when 61% said things were on the wrong track; now 69% feel that way. Just 43% of GOP respondents said the country is moving in the right direction.
Partisan divisions are particularly pronounced in voters' views of the economy and their own financial condition. Eighty-two percent of Republican respondents said the economy is doing well, whereas 44% of Democrats shared that view. Fourteen percent of Republicans said they were worse off financially than three years ago, compared with 34% of Democrats.
The poll also found a wide gender gap in attitudes toward the economy, with men far more optimistic than women. More than two-thirds of men surveyed said the economy is doing well, compared with 49% of women.
"Sure, there are people out of work, but I do feel our economy is doing as well as I've ever seen it," said Harold Wells, a retired financial planner in Michigan. "We have 4.5% unemployment, and the stock exchange is at its highest in a while."
As gasoline prices soar over $3 a gallon, survey participants were most likely to blame U.S. oil companies and the Bush administration rather than market fluctuations. Whereas 12% said market forces were responsible for the high price of gas, 38% blamed oil companies and 21% blamed the administration.
Corporate chiefs in general were viewed with suspicion, with 81% saying they are overpaid and 33% saying they are ethical.
The immigration debate has heated up in recent weeks, with the Senate taking up -- and last week putting off -- the overhaul legislation. The bill aims to establish a pathway to citizenship for most of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. It also would create a guest worker program and institute a point system for evaluating new immigrants that would put less weight on family ties and more on applicants' skills and education.
Underscoring the urgency of the debate, 86% of people surveyed said illegal immigration was an important problem.
Although the pathway to citizenship is one of the most controversial provisions of the Senate bill, 63% of those polled backed the idea -- as did 58% of those who identified themselves as conservatives and 65% of Republicans.
The survey question specified that, under the proposal, citizenship would be available only to those who registered their presence in the U.S., had no criminal record, paid a fine, got fingerprinted and learned English, among other requirements.
