News Interest Index: Many Say Government on Right Track on Economy

One month into President Obama's administration, Americans on balance say the government is on the right track in the way it is handling the nation's difficult economic problems.

Nearly half (47%) says the government is on the right track in the way it is handling economic problems, while about a third (34%) says it is on the wrong track, according to the latest News Interest Index survey conducted Feb. 20-23 by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. The survey was completed before Obama's address this week to Congress. While there are significant partisan differences in these opinions, the share that says the government is on the right track is up 16 points from 31% in mid-January, just prior to Obama's inauguration.

Last week, the public continued to track a number of economic policy developments very closely. Final passage of the $787 billion economic stimulus legislation was the top story in terms of news interest. Roughly four-in-ten (41%) say they followed final action on the economic stimulus bill very closely, while 35% named this story as the news item they followed most closely – by far the highest percentage for any of the week's stories.  

Read the full report Many Say Government on Right Track on Economy on the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press' Web site.