Americans are worried.

 
Worried about the state of the economy. Worried about Washington’s ability to lead the nation through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. And even worried about how much money they’ll be spending on gifts for the holidays.
 
According to the latest CNBC/Portfolio.com Wealth in America Survey, 93 percent of those polled described U.S. economic conditions as “poor to fair;” two in three are both pessimistic about the economy today and optimistic about the economy for the future.
 
The survey was conducted twice; once between September 10 and September 12, before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, and the government takeover of A.I.G., and again from September 18 to September 21, after the financial crisis deepened and the Bush administration unveiled its bailout plan.
 
More than 40 percent of those polled said the economy will get better during the next year, compared with 28 percent just two weeks ago and 21 percent in June, and 23 percent said the economy will get worse, less than the 25 percent who responded that way two weeks ago and the 43 percent who were gloomy in June.
 
On the political front, 38 percent of respondents think Democrats would do a better job at promoting polices that could have a positive effect on Americans’ personal financial situations. In contrast, 28 percent said they believed Republicans would do a better job.
 
Barack Obama would best be able to deal with the financial crisis, according to 36 percent of those polled, while 27 percent saw Republican candidate John McCain as the best caretaker of the U.S. economy.
 
Struggling retailers won’t get much of a boost from the holidays if the opinions seen in the survey don’t change. It showed consumers plan to spend almost 7 percent less this year, budgeting $781 a person for holiday shopping, down from $839 last year.