Poll: Majority say U.S. on wrong track

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- The vast majority of U.S. citizens aren't wearing rose-colored glasses when they consider how things are going in the country, a CNN Poll indicates.

Seventy-six percent of those asked indicate the United States is on the wrong track, the CNN-Opinion Research Corp. results indicate, the lowest number since 1980.

"Only three events -- Watergate, the Iran hostage crisis and the economic downturn of 1992 -- have driven below 30 percent the number who think things are going well," CNN's polling director Keating Holland said. Polling about the mood of the country has been conducted since 1974.

The poll also indicated low public opinion on U.S. President George Bush and Congress. While 30 percent of the respondents said they approve of Bush's handling of his job, 69 percent disapprove.

Regarding Congress, 22 percent approve of how Congress is handling its job and 77 percent disapprove. Thirty-six percent of those polled said Democrats are handling their job well and 63 percent said they aren't.

The poll surveyed 1,041 adults by telephone July Sunday through Tuesday. The sampling margin of error was 3 percentage points.