Utahns high on Utah ...

Utahns are sometimes accused of living in their own little world.

But when it comes to their opinions of how things are going in Utah, and how things are going in the nation as a whole, they are definitely worlds apart.

A new poll for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV shows that only 39 percent of Utahns believe the United States is on the right track, going in the right direction.

But 70 percent of Utahns believe that our state is on the right track, pollster Dan Jones & Associates found.

It's a we-love-it-here, not-so-much-there mind-set.

Utahns' opinions of how the nation is going have changed dramatically from the first days of the Iraq war. In January 2005, Jones found that 61 percent of Utahns thought the nation was going in the right direction. Now that is only 39 percent.

Utahns, largely conservative and typically optimistic, have a dim view of what's happening in America now and the country's position in the world.

"This is as low as I've ever seen," Jones said. "People are getting down about the war — they support our troops but they want to hear some good news.

The war doesn't seem to be getting any better.

"Utahns haven't been this down" on how the country is doing "since the days of Watergate and (President Richard) Nixon's downfall."

The war in Iraq likely accounts for some of the pessimism. Other factors may include: Democrats controlling (most Utahns vote Republican) Congress, the federal budget running record deficits and gasoline prices soaring across the nation.

Gasoline is a tough issue, hitting all Utahns, said Jones, who has polled in Utah for 30 years.

Immigration is also a tough issue, Jones said. Most Utahns don't want amnesty for undocumented immigrants, but they also want the cheap labor that immigrants bring and recognize the hope of a better life that America offers.

In Utah, though, things are much better, according to those surveyed by Jones.

Utah is controlled by Republicans. The state's economy is strong, resulting in record state tax surpluses and healthy tax reductions in recent years.

The sales tax on unprepared food was cut nearly in half, and income taxes have been reduced.

Wages are climbing, and unemployment is at record low levels in the state.

"How people feel about how Utah is going reflects how the governor is doing," said Jones. And Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s job approval rating is in the 80th percentile.

Jones found that how Utahns see the United States is greatly colored by partisan politics.

Sixty-three percent of Utahns who said they are Republicans believe the country is "strongly" or "somewhat" on the right track.

Republicans outnumber Democrats here 2-to-1, and Democrats and political independents have a very different view.