BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

According to a recent Gallup poll, the state of the nation, as rated by poll respondents, is at its lowest point since 1979.  And future prospects aren’t looking all that bright either.

Telephone interviews were conducted with 1,011 adults from January 7-10. And poll results released on Tuesday indicated that only 39 percent of Americans had a positive look on the state of the country.

UPI reported that 48 percent, Americans felt better about where the United States would be in five years, still the lowest number since 1979, according to the Gallup poll. The company said their poll basically coincides with Americans' rate of satisfaction with their country, currently at 25 percent.

According to Gallup.com, the poll asked Americans to use a zero to 10 scale, where zero equals the lowest possible score, and 10 was the best possible situation they expected. They rated the state of the country currently, five years ago, and five years in the future.

Breitbart.com reported that 55% of the country felt things were better five years ago. Not all that shockingly, results appeared to go according to political party, as 75% of Democrats said life in the U.S. will be better in five years, but only 15% of Republicans felt that way.

The economy, of course, is a big factor in determining respondents’ attitudes. State of the U.S. ratings were at a similar low level of 34% in August 1979 when the economy was suffering and inflation was high, according to Gallup.com. And a 33% rating occurred in April 1974 in the middle of the Watergate affair.

Margin of error in the poll is four percentage points.