POLL: Confidence Ends 2007 With a Tough 4th Quarter

GROUPS – As usual, the CCI is higher in better-off groups. It's +8 among higher-income people while -56 among those with the lowest incomes, -8 among those who've been to college while -48 among high school dropouts, -19 among whites but -32 among blacks and -12 among men while -27 among women.

Partisan differences remain: The index is +12 among Republicans, but -28 among independents and -40 among Democrats.

Here's a closer look at the three components of the ABC/Post CCI:

NATIONAL ECONOMY – Thirty-one percent of Americans rate the economy as excellent or good; it was 27 percent last week. The highest was 80 percent on Jan. 16, 2000. The lowest was 7 percent in late 1991 and early 1992.

PERSONAL FINANCES – Fifty-seven percent say their own finances are excellent or good; it was 56 percent last week. The best was 70 percent last reached in January 2000. The worst was 42 percent on March 14, 1993.

BUYING CLIMATE – Thirty-two percent say it's an excellent or good time to buy things; it was 32 percent last week. The best was 57 percent on Jan. 16, 2000. The worst was 20 percent in fall 1990.

METHODOLOGY – Interviews for the ABC News/Washington Post Consumer Comfort Index are reported in a four-week rolling average. This week's results are based on telephone interviews among a random national sample of 1,000 adults in the four weeks ending Dec. 30, 2007. The results have a 3-point error margin. Field work by ICR-International Communications Research of Media, Pa.

The index is derived by subtracting the negative response to each index question from the positive response to that question. The three resulting numbers are added and divided by three. 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.

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