Americans more positive; Bush, Congress gain

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Americans enter 2008 in a more positive mood, with slightly greater hope for the future and a more charitable view of President George W. Bush and Congress, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

The Reuters/Zogby Index, which measures the mood of the country, rose in December for the first time since the polling began in July, climbing from 94.9 to 97.3.

Bush continued a slow climb back from record low approval ratings, with the number of Americans who give him positive marks for his performance rising from 28 percent last month to 31 percent.

Even the U.S. Congress, stuck for two consecutive months at a record low approval of 11 percent, rose slightly to a still miserable 13 percent.

But the public has plenty of worries, mostly on the economic front. The poll found 43 percent of Americans expect a recession in the next year, up from 40 percent last month, and only 21.7 percent rated the performance of U.S. economic policy as excellent or good.

"It looks like the bleeding has stopped and people are starting to feel a little better, but there are still growing worries about a recession," pollster John Zogby said.

"The main difference is the slightly better numbers for the president and Congress. There just wasn't much room to go down, they have bottomed out," he said.

The poll follows a month when the Republican president and Democratic-led Congress tried to make headway on proposals to ease a housing crisis amid a fluctuating stock market and growing predictions of recession.