WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 21: People wave American flags as people gather near the U.S. Capitol building on the National Mall for the Inauguration ceremony on January 21, 2013 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Barack Obama, will be ceremonially sworn in for his second term today. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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CNN poll: Americans optimistic, but ...
02:18 - Source: CNN

Story highlights

Fifty-two percent of Americans say things are going well in the nation

One-third of Americans say the economy is improving, an 8-point increase from last year

The mood of the nation breaks down on geographic and gender lines

Washington CNN  — 

For the first time since 2007, a majority of Americans think things are going well in the nation, a new CNN/ORC International poll found.

It’s a slim majority — just 52 percent of Americans said things are going well, while 48 percent said things are going badly — but it’s the most positive appraisal of the state of the nation that the poll has found since January of 2007.

And it marks consistent improvement in the mood of the nation over the past few months, despite a series of national security crises and continued gridlock in Washington. In September, 50 percent of respondents said things were going well.

They're still a minority, but an increasing number of Americans say economic conditions right now are good, according to a new national poll.
They're still a minority, but an increasing number of Americans say economic conditions right now are good, according to a new national poll.
BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images
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Economic sentiments have improved over the past year as well. Though just one-third of Americans believe the nation’s economy is starting to recover, that marks an 8-point increase from a year ago, when 24 percent said the same.

A plurality, 41 percent, say the economy has stabilized, a 5-point improvement from November of 2013.

And just 26 percent of Americans say the country’s economic conditions are getting worse, a decline from the 39 percent who said so in 2013.

But the mood of the nation isn’t consistently positive in the new CNN/ORC poll — it suggests both a gender and geographic divide.

Men are both more positive about the state of the nation and the economy than women, the poll shows. Fifty-five percent of men say things are going well in America, compared to 48 percent of women who say the same; 36 percent of men believe the economy is recovering, while only 28 percent of women say the same.

And economic conditions appear to be better in the Northeast and Midwest than they are in the southern and western parts of the nation, as respondents are more likely in those regions to say the economy is improving. They’re also more likely to say that things are going well than their counterparts in the South and West.

The CNN/ORC poll was conducted among 1,045 adults via telephone from Nov. 21-23, and has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3 points.