Americans want new course, poll says

A new poll would seem to augur well for Democrat Barack Obama, though his Republican presidential rival is also promising change.

The AP/Ipsos survey released today shows an immense appetite for change -- in fact, the most since the survey began five years ago.

Those who said the country was on the wrong track totaled 76 percent, up from 71 percent in April and 66 percent near the end of 2007. The 17 percent who said the country was headed in the right direction was down from 24 percent since April.

Six in ten of those who chose "wrong track" blamed the struggling economy, while "poor leadership" accounted for 23 percent, while 20 percent said the war in Iraq.

Other findings when respondents were asked, "Generally speaking, would you say things in this country are heading in the right direction, or are they off on the wrong track?":

-- Men were more likely to believe the US is headed in the right direction.

-- Just one in 10 Americans with household incomes below $25,000 feel the country is headed the right way, compared with 21 percent of those with household incomes of $50,000 to $75,000.

-- One-fourth of Republicans and Republican-leaners believe the country is headed in the right direction, compared with 11 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaners.

The survey, conducted June 12-16, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.