NEARLY HALF OF AMERICANS THINK OUR BEST DAYS ARE OVER

Nearly one-out-of-two U.S. voters (49%) now say the nation's best days are in the past, a five-point jump from last month and the highest level of pessimism on this question in a year. But a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 38% still say America's best days are in the future, a finding that has held steady since April. . .

Fifty-two percent (52%) of Democrats believe the country's best days are still to come, down two points from the previous survey. Sixty-five percent (65%) of Republicans say those days are in the past, up four points from a month ago. Among voters not affiliated with either party, a plurality (48%) believe the best days have come and gone, but that's down four points from late June. Men are more pessimistic than women. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of African-Americans say the best is yet to come, but 51% of whites disagree and say those days are gone.