MSNBC's Chuck Todd discussed the WSJ / NBC poll showing pessimism by the American public for the future of the country Tuesday on Morning Joe, pointing out most respondents believed things will not improve over the rest of President Obama's term.
Obama delivers the State of the Union address tonight with 51 percent of Americans disapproving of his job performance.
"You have a majority that essentially don't believe the rest of his second term is going to get any better," Todd said. "Does that mean they've given up on him? I think these are the things that would be going through my head in the West Wing, worried about why this speech is so important for him tonight because I think it's the last best chance he has of getting the public to listen to him. But you have to look at these numbers and wonder, is that already passed?"
Obama had just a 43 percent approval rating in the poll as well, and 63 percent said say the U.S. is on the wrong track. Also, 68 percent said the country was either stagnant or worse off since Obama took office.
The words "divided" (37 percent), "troubled" (23 percent) and "deteriorating" (21 percent) were the most common answers by people describing the state of the union, with only 3 percent calling it "strong."
"90 percent of folks we surveyed, one of the two words they picked was a negative word," Todd said.
The numbers included only 22 percent of respondents saying the economy worked well for the middle class, and 71 percent are dissatisfied with the economy overall.