Survey indicates bigger voter turnout for 2008 U.S. presidential race

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Anxious about changing the country's direction, American voters are poised to continue a rebound in turnout in this year's presidential election, a new survey indicated.

Sixty-two percent of the polled said they are more enthusiastic about this year's presidential election, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll survey Thursday.

That's 17 percentage points higher than at this point in 2000 and 6 points higher than in 2004.

Democrats are significantly more keyed up about the election than Republicans, a major advantage if the feeling continues to November.

Republicans and independents who "lean" to the GOP say by 49 percent to 37 percent that they're more excited than usual. For Democrats, the ratio is 74 percent to 19 percent.

"If things are going fine, people would relax and get back to their lives and go to the movies. But when the country's in trouble, then obviously you turn your attention to solving the problems in front of you," said Jon Krosnick, a Stanford professor who studies political psychology.

"Lots of people in the country, more so than in a really long time, are unhappy with the direction the leadership has been taking," he added.

That unhappiness is deep-seated. In the USA TODAY poll taken from Jan. 10 through Jan. 13, more than half of those surveyed say they are pessimistic or uncertain about how well the U.S. government will work in the long run.

Nearly two-thirds are pessimistic or uncertain about the long-term soundness of the economy. The poll also found that one key motivation for voters is hope.

Eighty-four percent of the polled say there's a candidate running who would make a good president, while 11 percent see none. Nine in 10 say it makes a difference to them who is elected president.

The results are based on telephone interviews with 2,010 adults nationwide.