Most Voters Believe Terrorists Live in Their Neighborhood, White House Is Incompetent

A majority of Americans believe that the current administration is perpetually incompetent and that even their own neighborhood is not safe from terrorists, according to a new Fox News poll.

A full 60 percent of respondents think it likely that terrorists live in their town, up from 48 percent the last time the network asked the question in 2007. That’s also higher than the 58 percent who believed terrorists lived nearby in June 2002, just nine months after the 9/11 attacks that shook the nation. A record high 29 percent responded they felt it was “very” likely that terrorists are living in their area.

Meanwhile, 6 in 10 believe that the U.S. economy is still in recession, despite the administration’s longstanding assertions that the recession ended in 2009. While still a clear majority, the recent poll numbers are an improvement over last year’s response of 74 percent and the 86 percent of respondents in 2010 who believed the recession was still ongoing.

President Obama’s approval rating is at 44 percent, while 51 percent disapprove. These results are roughly holding steady with previous polls, including a 42 percent approval-53 percent disapproval ratio last month, and a 44 percent-49 percent result a year ago.

This dovetails with the 53 percent of respondents who believe Obama has not been “competent and effective” in managing the federal government. While only 46 percent approve of his job on the economy, a dismal 32 percent approve of how he’s handling ISIS.

Perhaps most surprising is the fact that 65 percent of self-identified independents, the most sought-after voting bloc by politicians of both parties, believe that terrorists are living nearby. This follows ISIS and other terrorist organizations’ calling for lone wolf attacks in would-be jihadis’ home countries, and from the clear majority fearing this will soon come to fruition, it appears that even those without clear-cut allegiances to certain political ideologies are worried that, no matter what the Obama administration has been trying to do to stem terrorism’s advance, it just isn’t enough.