2010 was not a good year but, according to the Americans interviewed in the latest Economist/YouGov Poll, it was better than 2009.
72% say that 2010 was a "bad" year for the world, but that is nine points fewer than the 81% who thought 2009 was a bad year when they were interviewed in December, 2009. More than one in four say 2010 was a good year for the world, up from the 19% who felt that way about 2009.
And a (bare) majority of Americans believe that the year just past was a good one for themselves and their family. 51% believe that, an improvement from the 46% who said that about 2009 when that year ended.
Those small improvements in perceptions about the year may have been helped along by the accomplishments of the recent lame duck session of Congress, as there are still many areas where Americans feel just as negative or even worse about how things are going as they did a year ago. But assessments of the President and the Congress have improved in the last few weeks.
Two weeks ago, the public's approval rating for Barack Obama was at an all-time low of 39%. It is now back up to 45%, just about where it was at the end of 2009. 50% now disapprove (47% did so at the end of 2009).
The President's approval rating when it comes to handling the economy is back up as well, although approval levels here remain below his overall approval rating. 37% approve of his handling of the economy, up from 31% two weeks ago.
Approval of how Congress is handling its job is an abysmal 14%, but that too is up from only 9% two weeks ago, and among the best scores for Congress in the last few months.
But the current approval rating for Congress is well below its approval rating in December 2009. Then, 18% approved of the way Congress was handling its job.
One other qualified improvement in Congressional perception: 31% of Americans believe the current Congress has accomplished less than usual, but that is down from the 40% who felt that way last December. Now, 27% believe the Congress accomplished more than usual. At the end of 2009, 24% believed that.
