PRINCETON, N.J., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Americans widely say they are satisfied with their personal lives but are sour with the way things are going in the United States, a Gallup poll indicated.
Seventy-nine percent of Americas said they are satisfied with their personal lives, while 23 percent said they were satisfied with the way things are going in the United States, results released Wednesday indicated.
Gallup said the 56 percentage point gap in satisfaction is among the highest measured in 34 years and may indicate many don't see problems facing the country being relevant to their own lives.
Although Americans have been more content with their own lives than with the country's direction, the two views forked in 2005, as the percentage of Americans saying they are satisfied with the way things are going in the country fell while the percentage of those expressing satisfaction with their personal lives remained relatively constant, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said.
Results are based on national telephone interviews with 1,031 adults conducted Dec. 5-8. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.
