U.S. mood lifts, but worries remain: Reuters poll

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans remain worried about the U.S. economy and their personal finances, but their outlook brightened for the second consecutive month, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

The Reuters/Zogby Index, which measures the mood of the country, jumped sharply to 96.3 in September from 91.9 in August as seven of the 10 measures of public opinion used in the index rose. The index also climbed slightly in August from July.

Americans felt better this month about their personal finances, job security and their children's prospects, the survey found. Confidence in the future, as measured by the number of Americans who believe the United States is on the right track, also rose slightly.

The September survey was taken Thursday through Saturday, before Sunday's upheaval on Wall Street with the fall of Lehman Brothers Holding and the sale of Merrill Lynch. Oil and gasoline prices had been falling before Hurricane Ike disrupted production in the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend.

"There are a lot of reasons to still have the jitters, but maybe people are learning to deal with them," pollster John Zogby said.

The survey found the abysmal approval rating for Congress climbed slightly to 13 percent from last month's all-time low of 9 percent.

But President George W. Bush, in the final four months of his second and last term in office, saw his approval ratings slip 1 percentage point to 28 percent -- within the poll's margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

"The public is moving away from George W. Bush and looking ahead," Zogby said. "With (Republican presidential candidate John) McCain carving out a campaign based on change, Americans know they are going to get some kind of change, one way or another."

RATING ON ECONOMIC POLICY FALLS

Ratings for the Bush administration's economic policy fell slightly, from 15 percent to 13 percent, while positive marks for the administration's foreign policy held steady at 25 percent.

Every other measure in the index rose. The number of people who gave their personal finances positive marks jumped from 47 percent to 52 percent, while the number of Americans feeling secure in their job climbed to 64 percent from 61 percent.

The number of Americans who believe the country is on the right track rose to 25 percent from 23 percent -- well above June's all-time Zogby poll low of 16 percent. The number who are confident about their children's future climbed to 68 percent from 64 percent.

But there were still lingering signs of economic worry. In a question that was not included in the index, 45 percent of Americans said they plan to spend a little less or a lot less on gifts during the upcoming holiday season. About 46 percent said they will spend the same as last year.

"It's clearly not going to be a happy holiday season," Zogby said.

The index combines responses to 10 questions on Americans' views about their leaders, the direction of the country and their future.