For the first time since President Obama took office, voters see his policies as equally to blame with those of President George W. Bush for the country’s current economic problems.
A new Rasmussen Reports U.S. national telephone survey finds that 48% of Likely U.S. Voters now think Obama’s policies are to blame for the continuing bad economy, up three points from last month. Forty-seven percent (47%) say the recession that began under Bush is at fault.
With voters across the country expressing stronger belief that the economy is getting worse rather than better, these new findings spell potential bad news for Democratic candidates this fall. The president is already planning to limit his campaign appearances with candidates because of potential voter backlash.
In June and last October, 45% blamed Obama’s policies for the country’s ongoing economic woes, the previous high finding on this question. The number who blame Bush is down from 62% in May 2009 when Rasmussen Reports first began tracking the question regularly. Only 27% faulted Obama at that time.
As is often the case, Mainstream voters and the Political Class have wholly different viewpoints on this question. While 61% of Mainstream voters now blame Obama’s policies, 87% of the Political Class say the bad economy is due to the recession that began under Bush.
Fifty-five percent (55%) of men blame Obama’s policies for the current economic problems, while 52% of women think Bush is the cause.
Among voters not affiliated with either major party, Obama is now chiefly to blame by a 52% to 44% margin.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted July 30-31, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Sixty-two percent (62%) trust their own judgment more than Obama’s when it comes to the economic issues facing the nation. Twenty-seven percent (27%) trust the president’s judgment more. These findings have changed very little for months.
Republicans and unaffiliated voters strongly trust themselves more than the president when it comes to the economy. A plurality (48%) of Democrats place more faith in Obama.
Seventy-six percent (76%) of Mainstream voters trust their own economic judgment more than the president’s. Sixty-two percent (62%) of the Political Class trust the president more.
Thirty-seven percent (37%) of voters currently rate the president’s handling of economic issues as good or excellent. Forty-seven percent (47%) view his handling of these issues as poor. These findings, too, have held relatively steady since last November.
Forty-four percent (44%) of voters still expect their taxes to increase under Obama. Sixty-four percent (64%) believe government spending will go up under the Obama administration.
The economy remains the most important issue to voters among 10 top issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports.
Looking back, voters remain unhappy with the government bailouts of the financial industry and troubled automakers General Motors and Chrysler.
Just 25% believe the $787-billion economic stimulus package created jobs.
Americans are now evenly divided over whether anyone who wants to work can find a job in the United States.
Americans’ confidence that the economy will be better in one-year’s time has fallen to its lowest level in well over a year.
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