Cr edit note: And you can keep right on thinking that in your beltway, Kool-aid drinking, fairyland Mark. But out here among the real voters? Your guy is burnt toast today, tomorrow and beyond.

Running slipshod polls will only increase the fervor.

NBC.com

By Mark Murray Deputy political director

WASHINGTON — One year out before President Barack Obama faces voters in his bid for re-election, he encounters an American public that remains deeply pessimistic about the state of the country and its economy, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents believe the nation is headed in the wrong direction; just 25 percent think the U.S. economy will improve in the next 12 months; and a solid majority says the country is experiencing the start of a long-term decline.

Those attitudes have helped shape their opinions of the president, with majorities disapproving of his overall job performance and his economic handling, and with nearly 75 percent saying that the Obama administration has fallen short of their expectations on the economy and improving oversight of Wall Street and the banks.

Read the full November NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll here (.pdf)

Yet despite those views, Obama continues to run ahead of the Republican presidential front-runners in hypothetical general-election match ups — leading former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by six points and former businessman Herman Cain by 15 points.

“Is he [Bill] Clinton or [Jimmy] Carter? I don’t think you can answer it right now,” said Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff.

But Hart adds that Obama, right now, is facing an electorate whose hope — which the president famously campaigned on in 2008 — has been replaced by anger and fear.

“It is sort of the grim reality of keeping your chin above water,” he said. “It is the negative energy of fear and anger and rage.”

'We’re in the gutter'
Just how grim and negative is it? The poll asked respondents to give a single word or short phrase to best describe how they feel about where things stand in the country. Some of the answers:

“We are in the dump.”

“Very unstable.”

“We’re in the gutter.”

“Very challenging.”

Overall, 58 percent of these responses are negative, 33 percent are neutral and just 9 percent are positive.

What’s more, a combined 76 percent agree with the statement that the current economic structure of the country is out of balance and favors a small proportion of the rich over the rest of the country, and that America needs to reduce the power of the banks and corporations.

That number includes 62 percent of Republicans and 61 percent of Tea Party supporters who agree with the statement.

And 53 percent agree with the statement that the national debt must be cut significantly by reducing spending and the size of government.

Strikingly, half of all respondents in the poll consider themselves supporters of either the Tea Party or the Occupy Wall Street movement, reflecting the current divisions in the country.

(Indeed, here was one answer on the open-ended question: “I feel sorry my children and grandchildren. We are headed for a socialistic nation.” And another: “I feel that things are tilted dramatically in favor of wealthy and a select few.”)

Glass half empty, glass half full
One year until Election Day 2012, the NBC/WSJ poll contains these glass-half-empty numbers for President Obama: For the third-straight survey, his job-approval rating stands at 44 percent, with 51 percent disapproving. Also, just 40 percent approve of his handling of the economy, which is up one point from October.

And nearly three-quarters of respondents say that his administration has fallen short on improving oversight of Wall Street and the banks (74 percent), on the federal budget deficit (74 percent), on the economy (74 percent) and on changing business as usual in Washington (72 percent).

The glass-half-full numbers: 52 percent approve of his foreign-policy handling, while a whopping 71 percent agree with the president’s decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq by this December.

What’s more, a combined 71 percent say they like Obama personally; 60 percent believe he has inherited the current economic conditions; and more blame Wall Street bankers and George W. Bush than Obama for the economy.

But just two in 10 think his economic policies have helped the economy, while three in 10 contend they have hurt it. Almost half say they haven’t made much of a difference.

“This is no longer about who is to blame,” Hart said. “It is about who can get us out of our troubles.”

Obama leads Romney, Cain
Yet still, the president continues to lead his GOP rivals. He holds a six-point edge over Romney, 49 percent to 43 percent. And he runs 15 points ahead of Cain, 53 percent to 38 percent.

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