In divided nation, Americans do agree on this: Biden should talk about economy — CBS News poll

The state of our union is … ?  People still think democracy and the rule of law in the U.S. is threatened. (That may go hand in hand with the tough overall assessments of the nation.) 

We asked people to describe it, and received some dour assessments: they picked "divided" most of all, followed by "declining" and "weak." Few picked adjectives "strong," or — amid tough economic ratings — "prospering." 

These aren't just one-sided partisan points. Partisans share the sense of division and decline more than prosperity. It is in part a function of such dire views of the economy and inflation right now.