75 percent unhappy with U.S. direction

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PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Three-fourths of Americans say they're dissatisfied with the direction of the United States, a Gallup poll released Wednesday indicated.

While 75 percent of Americans said they were dissatisfied, 23 percent said they were satisfied with the way things were going in the United States, down from a 28 percent satisfaction rate last month, Gallup said.

Historically, the satisfaction rating is similar to what it was in early August 1992 -- 17 percent -- before President George H.W. Bush's re-election defeat and sharply lower than the 38 percent registered in mid-August 1996 and 44 percent in mid-August 2004, the years in which incumbents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were re-elected.

At 35 percent, Democrats were more likely to be satisfied than Republicans, at 12 percent, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said. Independents' satisfaction level falls in between, but is closer to that of Republicans.

Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews conducted Thursday through Sunday with 1,012 adults. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.