In the midst of an economic crisis and an historic presidential election, voting Americans are evenly divided as to whether the nation’s best days lie ahead or in the past. Still, the current results are among the most optimistic of the past two years.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 44% of voters think America’s best days are still to come, while 41% believe they have come and gone. The percentage of those who think better days lie ahead has remained relatively steady over the past month, while the number of voters who think the best days are behind us has risen from 37% in August. The past two months are the only time in the past two years that a plurality of voters have held the more optimistic view.

There’s no doubt that the struggling economy is weighing heavy on most voters’ minds. Voters who make less than $40,000 a year are more likely to say the nation’s best days are in the past, while those who make more say better days lie ahead.

Investors remain fairly optimistic. While 45% say the nation’s best days lie ahead, 39% say they are already gone. Among non-investors, 48% say the best days have come and gone, while 38% say they are still to come. Investor confidence hit an all-time low Thursday in the Rasmussen Consumer Index.

A separate Rasmussen poll released Thursday found that opposition has been growing to a government bailout of financial companies and that most are worried that the government will do too much to respond to the situation. At the same time, despite current problems, most Americans still think buying a home is a good investment for families.

The latest survey also found that voters favor fewer government services with lower taxes to more services with higher taxes by a 57% to 31% margin. Those numbers have changed little over the past month. Voters believe taxes will go up if Barack Obama is elected president, while taxes will go down if John McCain is elected

Overall, most voters (62%) think American society is generally fair and decent. That’s down slightly from a month ago. Over a quarter (27%) now say American society is generally unfair and discriminatory, up from 24% in August.

When it comes to foreign policy, voters believe allies of the U.S. should do what America wants by a 40% to 34% margin. The gap has tightened slightly from ten percentage points in August.

Finally, the survey found that 72% of voters think immigrants who come to America should adopt the culture, while just 14% believe they should maintain the culture of their home country.

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