Poll: U.S. direction worries Westerners

PARK CITY, Utah, June 15 (UPI) -- Westerners are more concerned about the direction of the United States than just about any other region, a pollster told the Western Governors' Conference.

Public opinion pollster Frank Luntz also told the governors conference in Park City, Utah, that one in four Western respondents said they fear losing their jobs, but calls for more oil and gas drilling are less popular in the West than in other regions, The Denver Post reported Monday.

Polling conducted during the past few months indicated 44 percent of Westerners asked were unhappy with the federal government, followed by the South with 37 percent, the Midwest at 34 percent and the Northeast at 32 percent.

Despite displeasure with the country's direction, more than 60 percent of those polled approved of the job President Barack Obama has done so far, Luntz said.

While larger numbers of respondents from other regions -- ranging from 67 percent to 73 percent -- called for greater oil and gas drilling domestically, only 55 percent of Westerners supported it, the survey indicated.

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. opened the 25th Western Governors Association Sunday, then handed over control of the gathering to Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, the association's vice chairman, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Huntsman bowed out of the host's role so he could return to Washington to continue briefings for his Senate confirmation hearings as U.S. ambassador to China.