Overall, only 15% of voters and 17% of adults overall believe things are going well.
"The right direction/wrong track question sets the stage for the pessimistic and gloomy view about the economy," Pinkus said. "The last time we had 'wrong track' in the 70% range was back in 1992." That was the year Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton won the Democratic nomination and went on to defeat the incumbent president, George H.W. Bush, on the heels of a recession that lasted from 1990 to 1991.
Regardless of their choice for president, voters judged Hillary Clinton the most capable of the three candidates in handling economic policies. She garnered 32%, compared with 26% for Obama and 23% for McCain.
"This is an issue that McCain really has to work on to turn people's attitudes around," Pinkus said.
"This is an issue that is a positive for Democrats, and that may explain why they are doing better -- even though they are still fighting each other and McCain is getting a free ride."
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ricardo.alonso-zaldivar@ latimes.com
