American voters are more optimistic about the nation’s future than they have been in over four years. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 45% of voters think America’s best days lie ahead, while 37% think they have come and gone.

These latest results echo the optimism voters expressed back in early 2004, just after President Bush was sworn in for his second term in office. In early January of that year, 48% thought the country’s best days were ahead, while 35% said they had already past.

However, when regular tracking of the question began in 2006, voters’ sentiments changed. Since early November of that year, the percentage of voters who think America’s best days are in the future surpassed that of voters who think they have come and gone only one time -- in February 2008.

The latest numbers not only represent the second time that more voters say the best days are still to come, it also represents the largest spread found since that time.

Forty-seven percent (47%) of men say the nation’s best days lie ahead, along with 44% of women. Thirty-eight percent (38%) of men and 36% of women think the best days are in the past.

Even Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on the question, with 51% of voters from both parties saying the nation’s best days are ahead. Unaffiliated voters are not so optimistic. Just 30% of affiliateds believe it to be true. Forty-four percent (44%) of voters who plan on voting for John McCain say the best days lie ahead, as do 50% of those who plan to support Barack Obama.

The latest numbers come at a time when voter optimism also is growing on economic and national security issues. The Rasmussen Consumer Index shows adults are becoming increasingly more confident in the nation’s economy and their personal finances. Meanwhile, confidence that the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror is at its highest level in the history of Rasmussen tracking.

The latest survey also finds that 65% of voters believe American society is generally fair and decent, compared to 24% of voters who see it as unfair and discriminatory. The percentage of those who view society as fair and decent is also the highest since 2006. Men are slightly more likely than women to view society that way, as are Republicans over Democrats.

The majority of voters (59%) prefer a government that imposes lower taxes and provides fewer services. That number has changed little since 2006. But 28% would rather pay higher taxes and receive more government services.

Most voters (73%) think immigrants should adopt America’s culture, while just 13% think they should maintain the cultures of their home countries. While 91% of Republican voters say immigrants should adopt the culture of the United States, only 62% of Democrats and 68% of unaffiliated voters agree.

When it comes to foreign policy issues, 29% of voters think the United States should do what its allies want. That number has ranged from 23% to 33% since tracking began. But more Americans (39%) think the allies should do what America wants, a number that has ranged from 38% to 47% since 2006.

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