The year that just ended was not a very good one, according to those who responded to an Argus-Courier online survey Dec. 25, 2008. But Petalumans said it was a better year for them personally than it was for their city or their country.

Asked if 2008 was a good year for them personally, 47.1 percent said yes, while 35.3 percent said no. Asked if it was a good year for Petaluma, only 20.6 percent said yes, while 47.1 percent said no. Respondents said overwhelmingly (85.3 percent) that 2008 was not a good year for the country. Only 8.8 percent said it was a good year for the U.S.

Here are some of the comment by those who responded to the survey:

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“2008 was an economic disaster all around. The best thing that happened to the nation is that we elected a president who will keep the real needs of the people at heart. And thankfully, the voters of Petaluma did the exact same thing with our City Council. 2009 will be a much better year than 2008 by a huge margin.”

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“There’s hope with a new administration!”

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“The election results appear to me as the good news. The fact that our president and our elected officials ignored the financial meltdown is the bad news. Mr. Bush is only part of the problem; we allowed him to get away with a long list of offenses that began with closed-door sessions on energy policy and ended with the belief that Wall Street and big money would see us through. Looking back, we rushed into the war on Iraq and more recently rushed in to save the banks with the same lack of thought. Eight years of anti-intellectualism has taken a terrible toll.”

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“My personal income down, 401(k) in the toilet, Petaluma lays off city workers, dysfunctional state Legislature that can’t pass a budget, national debt out of sight, people getting laid off nationwide, where’s the good news? Ah, I found some! The politicians get pay raises!”

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“I have never seen things this bad in our country.”

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“On the positive side, the city of Petaluma has its new General Plan! Now can we build more shopping opportunities? I am tired of leaving Petaluma to shop!”

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“I survived war, no terror attacks at home and though my candidate didn’t win, we showed the world we are a great nation with peaceful transfers of power. Every year is a good year in America and Petaluma! So get up, brush yourself off, and be proud of what you have. God bless and good luck!”

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“Increased job protection and raising taxes will only make things worse next year.”