Today Gallup released the latest version of one of my favorite survey questions:
The reason this question fascinates me is simple: it makes a hash out of the quadrennial deluge of stories telling us that Americans are deeply frustrated with life and are demanding a president who can address their profound angst.
Maybe so. And yet Americans generally seem pretty happy as long as the economy is in good shape. What’s more, there are plenty of other measurements of happiness that tell the same story. As long as you have a steady job, you’re probably feeling OK.
Politically, I assume this is good news for Republicans. On the other hand, it turns out that satisfaction has a very partisan cast this year:
Can Democrats turn their deep gloom into an election win? I don’t know. Stay tuned.
