NEW YORK – As Thanksgiving Day approaches, the latest FOX News poll finds that three in four Americans feel "very" thankful this year.
Almost all Americans are feeling thankful, including 74 percent that say they feel "very" thankful and another 19 percent "somewhat" thankful. Hardly any say they are feeling "not very" (3 percent) or "not at all" thankful (2 percent).
Fully 82 percent of Republicans say they are "very" thankful this year compared to 70 percent of independents and 69 percent of Democrats. More women (77 percent) than men (69 percent) feel very thankful, and those who are married (79 percent) are more thankful than those who aren’t (64 percent). Southerners are 18 percentage points more likely than those living in the Northeast to say they feel very thankful.
Overall, the number saying they feel "very" thankful is down 9 percentage points from 83 percent last Thanksgiving, with the drop being most significant among nonwhites (down 17 percentage points), people age 65 and over (down 15 points), Northeasterners (down 14 points), self-identified liberals (down 12 points) and men (down 11 points).
"Even Thanksgiving is taking a hit, albeit a small one, from the political polarization in the country," comments Opinion Dynamics Corporation Chairman John Gorman. "Democrats and liberals, who are upset about the course they see the country taking, express less thanks than others."
When asked to compare this year to 10 years ago, four times as many Americans say they have more to be thankful for this year (72 percent) than say they have less (18 percent).
Looking back, this year’s results are unchanged from last year; however, the portion saying they have more to be thankful for is down 10 percentage points from 2002 and 2001 (82 percent) and 11 points from 1999 (83 percent "more to be thankful for").
Breaking Bread With Presidential Wannabes
Americans are divided on whether they would rather have Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., or Sen. Hillary Clinton , D-N.Y., as their Thanksgiving dinner companion. One third picks McCain (33 percent) and almost a third chooses Clinton (30 percent). Another 30 percent says "neither" and 5 percent say "both."
Not surprisingly, a majority of Republicans (52 percent) pick McCain and a majority of Democrats (54 percent) say Clinton. Independents lean toward McCain (34 percent) over Clinton (23 percent), but a 37 percent plurality says "neither."
Men would rather spend Thanksgiving with McCain (+ 10 percentage points), while slightly more women say Clinton (+ 4 points).
Finally, there’s no contest as to where Americans would like to celebrate Thanksgiving Day: 15 percent say they would like to spend the holiday at the White House, while an overwhelming 81 percent say their own house is where they want to be.
Opinion Dynamics Corporation conducted the national telephone poll of 900 registered voters for FOX News on November 8-9.
• PDF: Click here for full poll results.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox