Only two in 10 Americans give Gore a “great deal” or a “good amount” of credit for the robust economy, an ABCNEWS/Money magazine poll finds. About three in four Americans give Gore “only some” credit or “little to none,” with the latter group the largest of the bunch.
     These results have changed little since 1999, despite Gore’s efforts on the campaign trail to lay claim to the growing economy. This could be one reason Gore has only a five-point advantage over Republican George W. Bush on the question of public trust to handle the economy, according to a recent ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll. The vice president trailed the Texas governor on the issue before the Democratic convention.

Gore’s Credit for the Economy:
	Credit				No Credit
	Net	Great deal	Good amount		Net	Only some	Little/ none
9/17/00	20%	6%	14%		74%	33%	41%
7/18/99	16%	3%	13%		74%	34%	40%

Not surprisingly, Gore does best among Democrats — 40 percent give him economic credit — and worst with the GOP — only 3 percent of Republicans give the vice president credit for helping the economy prosper.
     Even if a majority of Americans don’t give Gore credit for the economy, the good times tend to foster political support for the status quo.
     CONFIDENCE — Separately, consumer confidence slipped a notch this week, but remains very strong: Seventy-six percent of Americans say the economy’s in good shape, 66 percent rate their personal finances positively and 53 percent call it a good time to buy things.

Consumer Confidence Since Dec. 1985:
	Today	Highest	Lowest	Average
National Economy	76%	80%	7%	40%
Personal Finances	66%	70%	42%	57%
Buying Climate	53%	57%	20%	38%

     INDEX — The ABCNEWS/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index, based on these ratings, stands at +30 on its scale of +100 to -100, down 3 points from last week. The index peaked at +38 on Jan. 16, slipped in the spring and early summer, then rebounded.
     The index has averaged +29 this year, a point above its record 1999 average. Its lifetime average, depressed by recession in the early 1990s, is only -10.

ABCNEWS/Money Index
Today	+30
Jan. 16, 2000	+38 (Record high)
2000 average	+29
1999 average	+28 (Best full year)
1992 average	-44 (Worst full year)
Feb. 9, 1992	-50 (Record low)
Average since 12/85	-10

A Closer Look
As usual, confidence is higher among better-off Americans: The index is +66 in higher-income households compared to -16 in the lowest, +49 among college graduates but -18 among high-school dropouts, +32 among whites but +11 among blacks and +34 among men but +26 among women.
     Here’s a closer look at the three components of the ABC/Money index:
     NATIONAL ECONOMY— Seventy-six percent of Americans rate the nation’s economy as excellent or good, down one point from last week. The best was 80 percent Jan. 16. The worst was 7 percent in late 1991 and early 1992.
     PERSONAL FINANCES — Sixty-six percent rate their own finances as excellent or good, down 3 points from last week. The best was 70 percent, set Aug. 30, 1998, and last matched in January. The worst was 42 percent on March 14, 1993.
     BUYING CLIMATE — Fifty-three percent say it’s an excellent or good time to buy things they want and need, the same as last week. The best was 57 percent Jan. 16. The worst was 20 percent in fall 1990.

Methodology
The ABCNEWS/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index represents a rolling average based on telephone interviews with about 1,000 adults nationwide each month. This week’s results are based on 1,037 interviews in the week ending Sept. 17 and have an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The question on Gore was conducted Sept. 6-17 among 513 respondents; that result has a 4.5-point error margin. Field work was done by ICR-International Communications Research of Media, Pa.
     The ABC/Money index is derived as follows: The negative response to each index question is subtracted from the positive response to that question. The three resulting numbers are then added and divided by 3. The index can range from +100 (everyone positive on all three measures) to -100 (all negative on all three measures). The survey began in December 1985.