Americans still gloomy

Almost 60 percent of those sampled in a WSJ/NBC poll say the economic slide has a ways to go - not a huge surprise considering that the national unemployment rate is nearing 10 percent and the L.A. rate is approaching 13 percent. Only 29 percent said that the economy had "pretty much hit bottom," down from 35 percent last month. From the Journal's story:

The recent recovery of the stock market has done little to temper the pessimism: 64% said the rise of the Dow Jones Industrial Average didn't have much impact on their views of the economy; 32% said it was an important indication of economic improvement. Just 42% said the economy will get better in the next 12 months, down from 47% in September. In contrast, 22% said things would get worse, up from 20%, and 33% said the economy would stay in the same condition, up from 30%. That pessimism has fed into what [Democratic pollster Peter Hart] called "total disgust" with Washington.

These polls have obvious political consequences - and to some extent they can impact consumer moods, which can lead to less shopping and more scrimping. That doesn't do much to help the economy. On the other hand, no one should be expecting the economy to perk up for many more months, no matter what Washington decides to do.