More Americans think Obama, Not Bush, Enacted Bank Bailouts, Poll Shows

Nearly half of Americans incorrectly think President Obama started the the bank bailout program, otherwise known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a new poll shows.

Just 34 percent of Americans surveyed by the Pew Research Center correctly said that TARP was enacted by the Bush administration. Almost half -- 47 percent -- think Mr. Obama started the bank bailout, according to the survey, conducted July 1-5. There was no partisan divide on the issue.

The TARP program was created in 2008 to stabilize the financial system. The Treasury Department has committed more than $500 billion to more than 800 firms through the program. While Mr. Obama did not enact TARP, his administration has largely been responsible for administering it.

A CBS News poll conducted in April found that just 39 percent of Americans said providing government money to banks and other financial institutions was necessary to get the economy out of recession. Another CBS News poll from January of this year showed that 49 percent of respondents said the Obama administration has done too much for the banks. The administration has characterized TARP as one of the "unpopular but necessary" steps needed to help the economy.

[Chris_Rice_IL]

I like how you parsed this to make Obama look innocent. Obama was a major player in support of TARP and is an accomplice. The legislative branch passes the laws and the president signs it. Obama and Bush are both guilty when it comes to TARP.

This was Obama's speech to the Senate when he made a big issue about leaving the campaign trail in 2008 one month before the election to encourage the Senate to vote for TARP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMMJew-qNWM

Part 2 of his speech in support of TARP to the senate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7OOv9Hf38A

The is the Senate vote on TARP and Obama's name has a "yea" next to it: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00212

When it comes to TARP, Obama is guilty.

[chabuka-2009]

No kidding...American people would rather believe a lying white guy than a black man who tells the truth.....what a surprise! Americans don't like the truth, they like fantasies, (fantasies like every one is equal, every one has a fair shot at the American dream, America is a Democracy, we are a Christian Nation...!).....the GOP controlled the narrative through right-wing, conservative Corporate news (promoting "business values, profits first" constantly attacking, berating and marginalizing the President (and Democrats), even to the point of convincing millions of people he isn't even an American, but still people chose the white liars, even when there was irrefutable prove, that they were lying. Voting against their own best interests and helping to bring about a totalitarian Corporatocracy. Democrats couldn't get a fair shot at the microphones or talk show...(with out at least two, or three conservatives ganging up on them, out shouting and drowning out their voices)...guess Americans love and respect "gangbangers", after all)no fair news coverage (Reagan's dismantling of the "Fairness Doctrine" at work)...and when Democrats got a shot...they were so far behind in the talking oints they couldn,t catch up or refute the lies already "fact" in most of the low-information, small-thinking (right-wing)American people

[comicart-2009]

we used to call people who can't face the facts "crackpots". It's always someone else's fault that I am not educated enough to hold a good job and can't find another one. It's someone else's fault that I lost my house which I couldn't afford when I bought it. It's someone else's fault that I don't have adequate healthcare and it's all Obama's fault re: anything else that is a bummer of my ineffective life.

I'm glad you folks are RepubliKKKanz and Tea Bags. I'd be disgusted to have you in the Democratic party. Clearly you are GOP Zombies. How many times do you have to be told the TARP happened before Obama was elected? Or that he was born in Hawaii or that he's a Christian?? Your communal ignorance could fill up the Grand Canyon to overflowing.

You listen to that pill-popping fatboy Limpnuts and you think the sky is falleing
You watch that loudmouth ignoramus Beckmoron and suddenly the land under your feet collapsed
You turn on Hanninsanity and out of nowhere we've been taken over by communists.

It is amazing how much things changed the day Obama took office (according to their feeble minds)...12 million illegal aliens crossed the border that day, national debt went from 0 to 13 trillion, unemployment went from 0 to 10%, Companies fled the US and set up shop overseas for cheap labor and tax breaks, Oil companies were deregulated and allowed to drill without safety devices and 50 million people lost their health insurance...that had to be the busiest day in history.

It had nothing to do with the GWBush administration throwing 3 trillion to the wind to fight 2 wars (of which one was an entirely useless endeavor and one that we were supposed to fight, but which was set aside while we fought the useless one and is now in it's 9th year because of it) and it has nothing to do with the Bush administration promoting home ownership to like a mantra "you will buy homes.. buy homes.. you will spend money.. and we can throw it away in Iraq.. spend money..." It has nothing to do with the reality that the Bush policies of lower taxes on the rich, less corporate oversight in favor of ignorant free market ideas, massive deregulation of industries like energy (can we say Enron? not when Bush is flying on Ken Lay's jet I guess)

The facts are that the problems that were caused by 8 years of the Three Stooges (Bush, Cheney and Rummy for 3), which were the most inept years of the Presidency in modern times, will take more than 8 years to resolve. Nothing so serious can be corrected by 2 years of any President's term.

You low foreheads scream about Socialisim and have no idea what it means. Here is socialism in action: Blue States like New York, California and Illinois and my own state Nevada pay much more into Federal Taxes than the Red States do. The red states get back much more than they pay in. That's socializing my taxes so idiots in South Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama (just 3 examples) can get more benefits. Nevada and New York get back 68 cents for every dollar sent to Washington. South Carolina gets $1.67. Let's take that extra 67 cents back and see how broke you get in that state and how many state services get cut.

I love it when you Tea Bags whine about taxing the rich, but then complain that your own taxes are too high. Well if you want to give tax breaks to the uber-rich, where do you think those taxes come from?? Why does someone who has never made more than $15k-25k a year stand up for the corporate interests that keep your wages down in the tax debate? Then in the next statement you whine about corporations screwing you. Are you that ignorant that you don't see the dichotomy of those statements? Oh sorry, dichotomy is a word you don't understand - it means you make opposite statements concerning the same subjects.

I know what I'll be laughing at soon.. You RepubliKKKanz and Tea Bags think Sharron Angle is going to defeat Harry Reid.. LOL
Sharron is a total wingnut and Harry is going to stomp her chances of Senatorial office like I stomp on cockroaches in my warehouse. Obama is doing great for all of you, but you aren't smart enough to see it because of your hate for a black President. Keep listening to Faux News, Limpballs and empty noggin Palin and all you'll accomplish is the continued dumbing down of yourselves and we Democrats will be laughing all the way to the voting booths in November where we're going to stomp your dreams of a Fascist state into the dirt, where it belongs.

[tele40]

Dummy--Dems control the purse from 2006. DO you dispute this?
Bush had good economic numbers from 2003-2007 . Do you dispute that? look at the numbers-after 2 wars and an attack that crippled the economy.
How has Obama down great for us? only 39%of country would vote for him again?
His policies of raisin g taxes on more than 50% of profits and increasing our debt 10x more than Bush did--has helped us??? What dumb ass planet are you from???

Obama single handedly has done the opposite of what you need to do to correct the economy--which is lower taxes fro the top tier, and cut spending. Pres Clinton himself believes in shopping health ins across state lines
Taxing over 50% of profits of small biz (thats what taxing the rich does) is something you would advocate in this economy?? 40% of Americans do not pay brunt of taxes. There was a study where if rich people could not buy yachts, yachts are not sold, and yahct builders are out of work. Dummy, all of Obams closest financial people are bailing on him. CArs for clunkers, and stimulus dismal failure. You think jobs will come at 30% and that when when we are out--B.S.
Should have let these banks fail, community banks where our money is are just find. TArp and all this began with Carter. Clinton let things slide the last few years in office. Frank, Pelosi, Reid all pushed for NINJA loans they controlled the purse. if you peg this on Bush , ok. But you do realize that Obama between stiimuls and omnibus makes Bushes ditch of a debt look like the Marianne trench-more debt in under 2 years that all US president combined. Obama blames GOP for holding things up, but Obama who pledged legislation does not do what he preaches-as we see he hailed to pass it and now congress walks out on session with new fiscal year beginning. Never happens since the 70's

[steeepe]

Probably the same 20% that think he's a muslim.....

[Vet_Turner]

Dr. Laura (with a PhD in Art), Limpbaugh, Hannity, Beck, Reagan, and Levin have done a real job on the American public. They know exactly what they are doing: obfuscating in order to just make a buck. It is just a game to them but the facts are they are convincing people that Obama and the entire polical class are just a bunch of cheats. Makes me think that they are just relating their own selfish lives to those they see in power. Sad and this cabal of radio show folks are really doing damage to the psyche of a class of Americans.

[RobAla]

He didn't start the bailouts, he just ballooned them to ridiculous levels.

[Vet_Turner]

Where do you come up with this RobAla? Just make it up. You sound like a neocon.

[pragmatist1]

Te reason people think this is because they're basically ignorant of facts and truth, since most obtained their news through the media and opted not to bother doing their own reading and digging...it's always easier for these types to let someone else do their thinking for them, which is what happened with the 2008 election...

[velma179]

Hahahahahahahaaaa!

The 2008 election was not decided by people who didn't know the TARP legislation had already passed.


Try again, ministry of the misinformed @ Fox/Rush/Breitbart/Drudge, etc. dot com

[starleo146]

by velma179 August 12, 2010 3:22 PM EDT
No Name Poster (above) is a perfect example of the brainwashed right wing contingent in our country. They post the same crap over and over, even though their point in posting it has been soundly declared wrong and not based on verifiable fact as many times.

This person is so ashamed of their own ignorance (though I doubt they have the personal integrity to admit it...) they will not even use a Name on an anonymous.

My bull crap post was to anonymous not Velma, sorry Velma agree with your comment totally

[velma179]

No problem starleo146... we, the free thinking, knew what you meant.

And totally agreed, maintain_integrity ... though we are all anonymous (my real name is not velma and I am not 179... age, weight or IQ :-) -- we should at least have an identifiable screen name in order to offer our comments.

[comicart-2009]

by maintain_integrity August 12, 2010 4:15 PM EDT
Why CBS continues to allow anonymous posting here is past ridiculous!
----------------------------------------

hey folks, I hate to break it to you all, but unless you have your real name in there instead of your moniker, I believe we are all anonymous. That said, you just need to figure that since most of the anonymous posts comes from the rightists, they may as well all be one person, seeing as they all spout the same Limaughisms
.
signed
Frank N Stein (not my real name)

[MurdochSucks]

Great job Fox pundits. Your dumbing down of America is a GREAT SUCCESS!

[starleo146]

You are so right, the Republicans had a choice to join with the democrats to help this country out of the worst situation since the depression. Paulsen already scared the congress out of the first bailout. No one yet knows where that money truly went, probably Goldman Sachs. That is neither here or there, ever since Obama came in on Jan. 2009 the republicans were and are determined to make him fail if the country can not jump start he will be blamed. With all the filibusters, more than ever before, to delay votes,and to never try to help this country. The Republicans have used every tactic to make sure this fix will not take place at all costs. I have to give Obama credit every thing he is doing is to help us out of this ,but the U.S. Senate has just been determined to screw this country up with NO NO NO, and now the propaganda experts in the Senate and radio and Fox Nooz have had a field day helping there friends like Wall Street, Big Oil, Big Business, instead of helping the country.I am not sure they will win in this, as they think they are in Nov. If everyone that knows what is really going on get to the voting booths, they may not win after all. I do pray the American people see through the garbage coming out of their mouths and find a way to punish them for doing nothing. The American people deserve better than lies and lobbyist like Bob Dole, Trent Lott, Dick Armey running to the U S Senate and helping with campaign money from Big Business and Wall Street to vote No. Wall Street hired them to do just that.

[lawkwfl]

Maybe you, POTUS Clinton and the rest of the left should have thought about that before Clinton pushed through the Telecommunication Act of 1997; that's the reason the US has 3 major 4 major TV broadcasters and only 3 radio station owners. Haven't you ever wondered why you get the same news with a different face hour after hour regardless of the time of day? It's all being from the same news sources. You think FOX is too powerful, this deregulation set the stage, so I lay the blame at your feet. Then again, it's easier to blame Bush, so maybe we should go that route.

[puldr]

These must be the same people who thought Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11, and didn't get the truth until five years after that event! Unfortunately, in our so-called educated/informed society, with all our vaunted press/radio/tv, many people don't understand basic truths; it is the same reason we are so unhealthy (heart disease, diabetes, cholesterol, high blood pressure, cancer, etc) eating all kinds of crap, not exercising, swallowing multiple pills, etc!!