Voters continue to have a pessimistic view about America's future relationship with the Muslim world, as the war worsens in Afghanistan and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ends a troubled visit to Pakistan.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 16% say that relationship will be better one year from now. That's the lowest level measured all year.

Thirty-three percent (33%) say the U.S. relationship with the Muslim world will be worse in a year's time. That's a slight improvement from last month but still highlights a growing pessimism in this area. Forty-four percent (44%) say the relationship will stay about the same as it is now.

In early June, President Obama delivered a major speech in Cairo, Egypt, reaching out to Muslims worldwide. Just prior to that speech, only 21% expected that the U.S. relationship with the Muslim world would be worse a year from now, and 28% said it would get better. The president's outreach effort to the global Islamic community was one of the primary reasons cited for his winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

Rasmussen Reports has been asking voters regularly since June whether America’s relationship with the global Islamic community will get better, worse or stay the same. Until last month, voters were far more closely divided, with those expecting better relations running as high as 32% just after the president’s speech and those fearing things will get worse never exceeding 28%.
The partisan gap on the question has changed little this month, however, with 51% of Republican voters who say relations will get worse. Just 23% of Democrats and 25% of unaffiliated voters agree

Only 29% of all voters expect the United States to be the world’s most powerful nation by the end of the 21st century, showing little change over the past month. Thirty-nine percent (39%) take the opposite view while another 33% are undecided.

At the first of the year, 39% said America would be number one at the end of the century, but 34% disagreed.

October was the deadliest month for the U.S. in Afghanistan since the October 2001 invasion in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The rising death of American troops there comes as the president considers sending thousands of additional troops to the war-torn country.

Recent polling shows that 42% of voters believe a U.S. victory in Afghanistan is not possible if neighboring Pakistan remains unstable.

Overall, just 45% of voters believe it is possible for the United States to win the war in Afghanistan.

Following her trip to Pakistan, 59% approve of the job Clinton is doing as secretary of State while 37% disapprove.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free) or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.

See survey questions and toplines. Crosstabs and are available to Premium Members.