Polls identify top issues ... what are yours?

Recent statewide polls have measured the mood and concerns of New Hampshire voters. Jobs and the economy come out on top.

The Survey Center at the University of New Hampshire unleashed a flurry of polls last week. There were several WMUR Granite State polls having to do with the political mood of the electorate as we get closer to the mid-term elections. One poll for the Business Industry Association (BIA) New Hampshire Consumer Confidence Index took the temperature of consumers in the Granite State.

What follows is a snapshot of what the polls say about how we're feeling.

One poll says our No. 1 concern, by a wide margin, is jobs/economy:
45 percent of New Hampshire adults say it is the most important issue facing the state,
21 percent say the state budget,
5 percent say high taxes,
3 percent say education funding,
2 percent say health care.

It's interesting to note that the state enjoys a better unemployment rate than the rest of the country -- 5.9 percent compared to 9.5 percent nationally.

As to how we're feeling about the future:
60 percent of New Hampshire adults feel the state is heading in the right direction,
32 percent think the state is on the wrong track.

Another measure of the economic mood, is reflected in the BIA Consumer Confidence Index:
31 percent of N.H. adults think the country as a whole is in for good times financially over the next 12 months,
49 percent think the country will have bad times,
20 percent think the conditions will be mixed.

In a poll focused on President Barack Obama:
47 percent approve, 50 percent disapprove his handling of the economy;
50 percent approve, 44 percent disapprove his foreign policy;
46 percent oppose the health care legislation, 39 percent favor it, and 15 percent are neutral.

On the war in Afghanistan:
65 percent of New Hampshire adults say it is going badly;
29 percent think it's going well.

Putting the polls in some context, they show that while we're feeling pretty good about ourselves here in the Granite State, we're not so sure about the country as a whole.

What about you? Do these poll results reflect how you're feeling?