Aggravations

The latest of the Roper Reports on the mood of the country confirms the obvious: Americans are currently feeling both put-upon and apprehensive. A majority (56%) are burdened by inflation and high prices to such an extent that they believe that even a $100 addition to their monthly paychecks would be spent to meet current needs. Forty-six percent are soured by the fuel and en ergy crisis. Forty percent are resentful of wrongdoing by elected officials.

Of the shortage-weary motorists, a majority (54%) said that more drastic steps by the Government were needed to deal with the crisis. Yet the poll was not a total downer. A resourceful 76% have found ways to save gasoline. The most popular methods include driving at lower speeds and running more errands on a single trip (54%). But few (9%) have joined car pools to save gas, and even fewer (4%) have turned to public transportation.

The starkest demonstration of the nation's confusion came, naturally, in Americans' attitudes toward politicians. Forty-one percent feel that Nixon should remain President, but 44% believe that the U.S. would fare better if he left. A staunch 42% called themselves conservatives, and only 24% labeled themselves liberals. Despite that, out of a field of 13 leading national politicians (not including Nixon), Senator Edward Kennedy finished first (with 37%) as the man who Americans consider best rep resents their point of view.

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