Poll: More feel good about NJ's direction

TRENTON — A new poll finds New Jerseyans are more optimistic about their state's direction than they've been in seven years. The Fairleigh Dickinson-PublicMind poll shows 46 percent believe New Jersey is moving in the right direction, while 43 percent believe it's off-track. Pollster Peter Woolley says the result is a milestone, noting that the last time residents felt this good about their state was July 2004. That was one month before Gov. Jim McGreevey announced he was a gay American and would resign. That scandal drove the "wrong direction" number to 51 percent. The poll also shows Gov. Chris Christie's numbers have hit a new high. His approval rating is 51 percent. The telephone poll of 800 registered voters was taken Oct. 17-23. The error margin is plus or minus 3.5 percent.