On the second anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack, 38% of Americans say that the United States has changed for the better since that horrible day. Forty-seven percent (47%) say America has changed for the worse.

Those figures represent a dramatic change from two years ago. In October 2001, 57% said America had changed for the better while just 23% said worse.

Still, 83% of Americans believe that the United States is the greatest country on earth while only 10% disagree. Two years ago, 89% agreed and only 5% disagreed.

Despite growing concerns about the situation with Iraq, there has been little change in the public's view of America's role in the world. Two-thirds (67%) of all Americans believe the world would be a better place if more countries were like the USA. That's little changed from 71% last fall.

Additionally, while Americans would like more co-operation with our allies, most want it on American terms. A slight majority (51%) believe that, in the interest of co-operation, our allies should do what we want more often. Just 24% believe the US should do what our allies want more often. A year ago, those numbers were 52% and 20% respectively.

On the second anniversary of the devastating terrorist attack that changed America, overall levels of economic confidence remain as low as they were in the aftermath of that attack. The baseline for the Rasmussen Consumer Index was established at 100.0 in October 2001. On the second anniversary, the Index was at 97.5, two-and-a-half points below that level. However, while the overall levels are similar, there are significant differences in the underlying perceptions of the economy.

Americans today rate the current state of the economy 15 points lower than they did in October 2001. At the same time, today's expectations for future economic performance are ten points higher than they were two years ago.

Additionally, investors today give the economy slightly higher ratings than they did following the deadly attacks. Non-investors have moved in the opposite direction and now give the economy lower ratings.

America's economic confidence fell during the final quarter of 2001, then rose dramatically in the first quarter of 2002. Post-9/11 highs were reached by the Rasmussen Investor Index on March 28, 2002 and by the Rasmussen Consumer Index on April 2, 2002. Then, when suicide bombings grabbed the headlines and raised new international security concerns, both the Investor Index and the Consumer Index began a decline that lasted nearly 12 months.

The Rasmussen Investor Index fell more than 50 points from 143.8 on March 28, 2002 to 91.1 on March 13, 2003. The Consumer Index fell forty points from 124.3 on April 2, 2002 to 83.2 on March 11, 2003. Throughout this period, economic confidence was closely linked to international security issues. When the news was good, confidence went up. When the news was bad, confidence went down.

Economic confidence surged with the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. However, since the initial surge, overall levels of economic confidence have remained fairly stable. Since May, however, the direct link between international security issues and economic confidence appears to have been broken. Public perceptions of the situation in Iraq have declined sharply in recent months while economic confidence has remained generally stable.