Can <a href=”http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/10/18/poll-nearly-half-think-us-in-recession/-2577″>this CNN sponsored poll be accurate?

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Nearly half of Americans feel the U.S. economy is in a recession, marked by a significant decline in economic activity, according to a survey released Thursday. The poll by the CNN-Opinion Research Corporation found that while 46 percent of Americans hold that belief, 51 percent don’t. Black citizens were more pessimistic than whites, findings show. Sixty-nine percent of black Americans feel the United States is in a recession, while only 42 percent of white Americans feel the same way.

CNN isn’t linking to how they asked the question, but it seems to me that many Americans are confusing unease in the economy with recession.