Latest Gallup Poll - Americans' satisfaction drops to 17% and ties record for greatest nosedive, race relations top worry

.

Dallas Police Officers Killed in Action

By PAUL BEDARD (@SECRETSBEDARD) • 7/21/16 8:21 AM

American satisfaction with the way things are going in the country has nosedived to just 17 percent, according to a new survey.

Up at a still miserable 29 percent in June, the one month drop tied a Gallup record for the biggest plummet since the satisfaction poll began 15 years ago.

The drop comes amid a spike in terrorism worldwide, police shootings of suspects, shootings of police and the nasty presidential race.

Gallup tests issues in their satisfaction survey and race relations has jumped from the bottom to the top in one month. At just 5 percent last month, 18 percent now believe race is the top issue facing the country. Dissatisfaction with government is second at 16 percent and the economy third at 12 percent.

"Since 2000, mentions of race have only once previously been in double digits — in December 2014, when 13 percent mentioned race as the top problem facing the nation. Race was infrequently mentioned as the top problem facing the nation from 1970 through 2000, with the exception of May 1992, a week after the Rodney King verdicts in Los Angeles, when 15 percent mentioned race as the top problem," said Gallup.

Democrats, meanwhile, are also dissatisfied with life, said Gallup. "The decline in Americans' satisfaction this month includes a particularly sharp drop among Democrats, whose satisfaction levels — after registering 51 percent last month — dropped 22 points to 29 percent in July. This was a marked change from the 11-point jump in satisfaction Democrats expressed from May to June," said the analysis.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com

.