Poll: Obama Not Blamed For Economy

CBS/NY Times Survey Finds Blame Falls On Bush Administration, Financial Institutions; President Faces Stimulus Skepticism

(CBS)  While Americans have become slightly more optimistic about the economy, they continue to have overwhelmingly negative perceptions of the current economic situation overall, a new CBS News/New York Times poll finds.

But while 82 percent of those surveyed say the economy is in fairly or very bad shape, just four percent blame President Obama, who has now been in office for slightly more than six months.

Instead, they blame the administration of his predecessor, George W. Bush (30 percent), Wall Street and financial institutions (29 percent), and Congress (12 percent).

Mr. Obama is seen as a better steward of the economy than Republicans in Congress. Asked who will make better decisions on the economy, a majority of those surveyed (56 percent) cited Mr. Obama. Just one in four pointed to Congressional Republicans. Still, Republicans have gained some ground here: In April, 63 percent said Mr. Obama would make better decisions.

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Read The Complete Poll (pdf)

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Overall, Mr. Obama's approval rating now stands at 58 percent. That's about where it stood two weeks ago, though it reflects a decline of five points from June and ten points from April. His approval rating on foreign policy is 54 percent, while his approval rating on the economy stands at 51 percent.

Mr. Obama has a lower rating on handling health care, however, the reform of which is his top legislative agenda. Forty-six percent approve of his handling of health care, down from 49 percent two weeks ago. And on the budget deficit, Mr. Obama's approval rating is just 40 percent. The deficit is the only area where more Americans disapprove than approve of the president's performance.

The State Of The Economy:

While just 18 percent of Americans believe the economy is in at least fairly good shape, the poll suggests they have become slightly more optimistic than they were just two weeks ago. The percentage who say the economy is "very bad" has fallen nine points to 35 percent, while the percentage who say it is "fairly good" has increased four points.

The percentage who says the economy is "very bad" is now back to where it stood in May and June, before the release of worse than expected unemployment figures.

Thirty-two percent say the economy is getting better, up from 21 percent two weeks ago. Twenty-two percent say it is getting worse, down from 33 percent on July 13. The latest numbers roughly match perceptions back in May.

Concern about household job loss has fluctuated. Thirty-six percent now say they are "very concerned." That's down from 40 percent two weeks ago, but equal to the percentage who were "very concerned" in June.

Twenty-six percent, meanwhile, are "somewhat concerned" about household job loss, while 38 percent say they are not concerned.

While the majority of Americans say their family's financial situation is staying the same (57 percent), more than one in three say it is getting worse. Just eight percent say their family's financial situation is improving.

The Stimulus Package:

Most Americans do not think President Obama's nearly $800 billion economic stimulus package has had a positive effect, though many still believe it will improve the economy in the long run.

Just one in four Americans say the stimulus package has made things better nationwide, and even fewer - 19 percent - have seen a positive impact in their local community. Fifty-seven percent say the stimulus has had no impact nationwide, and 13 percent say it has actually made things worse.

A higher percentage - 44 percent - expects the stimulus to eventually make things better nationwide, however. Twenty-eight percent expect it to have no impact, while 22 percent say it will make things worse.

Still, that means more Americans overall expect the stimulus package to have a negative impact or no impact (50 percent) than expect it to improve the economy (44 percent).

Fifty-three percent of those surveyed say the stimulus package will create jobs, while 41 percent say it will not. Only four percent say it has created jobs already, despite the Obama administration's efforts to convince Americans that the package has done so.

There is clear opposition to a second stimulus package. Just 27 percent of those surveyed favor another stimulus package, while 65 percent oppose it.

The War Front:

Americans continue to be far more optimistic about the situation in Iraq than the situation in Afghanistan. While 56 percent say things are going well for the U.S. in Iraq (37 percent say things are going badly), just 33 percent say they are going well for the U.S. in Afghanistan. Fifty-seven percent say things are going badly for the U.S. in Afghanistan.

The percentage who says things are going well in Iraq has fallen, however, from 71 percent in April to 62 percent in June to 56 percent today. Perceptions of the situation in Afghanistan have been relatively stable.

More from the CBS News poll released Wednesday:

Poll: Obama Not Blamed For Economy

Poll: Public Conflicted Over Health Reform

Poll: Many Blacks Say Police Treat Them Unfairly

Poll: Americans Want Deficit Reduced

Video: Polling Director Sarah Dutton Discusses the Poll

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This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1050 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone July 24-28, 2009. Phone numbers were dialed from random digit dial samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.

This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

[tocnwth]

Bush and company ran this country into the deepest hole they could find to give the ultra rich including himself and his family and all those with large bank accounts the biggest tax cut in history and then started a war with lies, half truths and intimination.

He, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and others should be tried for war crimes. After WWII Germans were tried and convicted of war crimes not as serious as the ones Bush, Cheney and company did.

He also did not have sense enough to raise taxes when it was obvious that we were spending and borrowing ourselves in the deepest hole ever.

He was left with a great economy and a surplus in the budget and spent the surplus in a year and borrowed money too so he and his friends and family could store away millions in cash. It would not surprise me to find that he has money in off shore accounts to avoid taxes.

[erasmus111]

by Joe_NY_15 July 30, 2009 1:31 PM EDT
When you are broke, I suggest you go on a massive spending spree, and then look for blame elsewhere.


Gawd, it amazing how brain dead some people are.

You can't make changes without spending money. And there definitely needs to be changes. You were already in major debt from that last baffoon, so a little more ain't going to make much difference. And that last idiot wasn't spending money on trying to make things better.

Once you have made the changes, you will be saving money. Then you can concentrate on paying back debt.



"Poll: Obama Not Blamed For Economy"

How the hell can Obama be blamed for the economy when it was in the tank long before Obama took office?

[RosieStein]

Obama should not be blamed for the state of our economy however, if he does not intervene in the State of Massachusetts where any court case can go before a judge and any case no matter how bizzare or inappropriate will hang in the court system for lengthy periods of time because many people are not doing their job correctly and do not follow procedure. Police departments are at fault for overspending and for tying up the courts with cases which are based on unlawful procedure. There is an example below:

Washington - The "Beer Summit," as the media chose to title this historical meeting between President Obama and two Cambridge men who had a dispute about conduct, is now over. The nation will reflect on how this important controversy began, what it stood for and why it made history. The matter at hand according to U. S. President Obama was a just a few men getting together for a beer on the Whitehouse lawn. A practical approach to lifestyle counseling. In this next second 100 days the entire country watches huddled together to see what comes next. Perhaps, the Whitehouse will begin investigating problems that happen to straighten them out. This would be a welcome gesture for all the struggling court cases and incidences that happen with police and the public. Not too long ago, an older returning female student and disabled veteran went back to school to turn in her nurses uniform and dawn a better more suitable career as a Special Education teacher for 4th grade children. Unfortunately for her, the Bridgewater State College campus police gathered to raid her East Bridgewater home and carry her out from the safety of her family in front of a very impressionable 7th grader and a scared Alzheimer's elderly mother without rhyme or reason. Accused of writing grafitti on the walls of Bridgewater State College bathrooms, this almost 50 year-old woman was horrified and placed in a racial controversy without actual guilt. She says, " I wish that President Obama would bring President Dana Mohler-Faria to the table in a "Beer Summit" to straighten out this situation which not only ruined a mother's reputation and education but weighed heavily on the mind of a very innocent 13 year old boy." The police did not use proper procedure when arresting this suspect for a vandelism crime and placed her into the category of Bomber and Hijacker terrorist which totally confused the court system and never actually solved the alleged crime but yet, ruined the future of this highly educated, perservering disabled American lady veteran. When will Obama counsel these two people to end a dispute which should never have happened. The student has never been able to tell the court that she was not present on campus during those alleged crimes. She has never been asked her whereabouts or interviewed before being prosecuted by Kevin Leach, an assistant clerk at the District court who presumably gave the Campus police the jurisdiction to cross town line and arrest a student who was returning to the campus in just a few days to embark upon her 4th semester as an honor student. When does Obama set the record straight and invite this black President Dana Mohler-Faria to the Whitehouse, who exclaims prudent fear for his own being and college personnel, faculty and students? He has told the court that he fears that Michelle Fortune, RN and former Bridgewater State student, mother, and USO volunteer, that she will impute serious crime against him and his school. Should this problem which clearly shows racial profiling against the student be solved on the Whitehouse lawn? What is good for the goose is good for the gander however, it appears that Beer Summit's are not for ladies and they are certainly not for white ladies. Why don't we ask Lucia Whalen what she thinks about the favoritism that President Obama shows certain type individuals in need of coming together to solve their differences which may not have been caused through their own actions but yet, through media enterprise. What makes one set of white and black people more important than another set? Maybe a glass of beer will help me to figure this out. Rosie Stein

[picklepants7]

funny how cbs (msm tool) has this poll on their website and not the rasmussen poll which shows obama's overall approval rating dropping like a rock. blame the poor economy on pelosi, reid, barney frank, and chris dodd if you want to be honest, if not, you are probably a dumbacrate.

[shylove2]

I think it is clear where the culture of corruption came from, the Reaganomic world of no regulation and a green light for corporate vultures to have their way with the country and the world.

The shameful part is it just signaled a general boomer shift from one form of hedonism to another, corporate hedonism. Reagan didn't think Trust But Verify applied to us.

Now it has gone on so long all the corporations and CEO's can't imagine they should be regulated at all and that the safe haven of incorporation allows them to get away with anything and there is no one to take responsibility except the consumers who eventually have to pay for everything anyway.

An excellent example is ENRON holding the entire state of California for ransom and Cheney saying we sometimes have to take the gloves of civilization off. Both things, no regulation and gloves off diplomacy, pretty well define our moral universe at this point.

We as a society are now beginning see the sticker price of this bill of goods we have been sold.

[sjc_1]

Good post, that sums it up nicely. I wish more people thought before they posted and voted, we might not be in such a mess if we did.

[digbrush]

y CarlR609 July 30, 2009 1:34 AM EDT
9-11 was planned for YEARS before Bush was in office and was going to happen regardless who was in office. Nobody saw it coming, and there was virtually no evidence of any specific attack or date. Sorry, but we were just suckerpunched. This has already been all but 100% determined by the 9-11 Commission. Only the brainless would blame Bush for something that would have also happened to Gore, if the vote in Florida had gone the other way.
But, that is wayyyyy besides the point of this article, which is based on a rather biased and pointless poll:Only 4% of Americans blame Obama? Ha! Give me a break. I work at a rather average company and I could easily find 30% or more just walking the halls, who blame Obama.

no evidence other than 20 terrorist taking flight lessons in a group without wanting to learn to land or take off and when you say "nobody" saw it coming that is not 100 percent accurate either..i doubt you have researched this much though you are probably still right that this still would have happened if Gore was in who knows..bush sure as hell sat on his hands and continuing to read "my pet goat" after the attack was not very impressive nor was anything that came after..what really funny and revealing about your post is that you say "Only the brainless would blame Bush for something that would have also happened to Gore" but the 30% you speak of at your job are not? I imagine John "fundamentals of our economy are strong" McCain would have fixed the bush economy by now??!! (and by the way as far as im conserned the economy was great under most of Clinton but when was are last huge recession..oh thats right.. under bushs Dad!

[FinaBiscotti]

obama has had more to do with the present condition of the economy - than the pro-Obama media wants the general public to know. And if that is not believable, take a good look at the donor lists for any of Obama's political campaigns - who are the direct beneficiaries of Obama's bail-outs - and stimulus package - through improper earmarks.

[FinaBiscotti]

in researching the causes of the housing and banking meltdowns, Obama was right in the thick of things - during the Clinton Administration -with the same people now as part of Obama's Cabinet - and CZAR-Palooza.

[mbeckerp]

NY Times/ CBS News survey. No that's an unbiased source. NOT!!!!!

[noloyalisti]

Man this is a relief, I was starting to believe that Americans are as blind, ignorant and uneducated as I thought. Maybe there is some intelligent life down there, Scotty.

[sjc_1]

This mess started around August of 2007, so how is this Obama's fault? I am amazed but not surprised to see so many wrong wing nuts trying to blame something on someone that had NOTHING to do with it. Those so called people live in a world all their own where just saying it makes it so...how delusional.

[noloyalisti]

You know, I was at our weekly peace vigil yesterday thinking that this is all a bad dream. How did America become so stupified and dumbed down? How did we become the most ignorant and stupid country on earth. They drive by in their TV-induced stupor. People are so stupid they don't even see that the 4 wars we are conducting are destroying this country all around them and causing this depression. They are like dumb animals who don't even know what is happening to them. I am shocked and stunned on a daily basis.

[noloyalisti]

I am surprise that so many people even blamed the Bushoccio Crime Family when big corporations own and run the media, the military and the government. We will not solve any problems until we recognize this fact.

[bmmg39]

How many DEMOCRATS (and, yes, some Republicans) said that there was nothing to worry about with Fannie and Freddie? Some even compared criticism of Fannie and Freddie of racism and "lynching." And now those same people have the audacity to blame Bush? Bizarre.

[Joe_NY_15]

When you are broke, I suggest you go on a massive spending spree, and then look for blame elsewhere.

[bmmg39]

Anyone still uninformed or misinformed enough to blame the Bush administration for the economy has obviously never heard of Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, or any of the other people who fiddled after Bush and others warned them more than a dozen times that the economy would falter if the practice of giving out loans to people unable to pay them back continued.

[stevex47]

Reality hurts for the nutjobs.

Look at America pre-boosh. Then America post-boosh.

I know which I prefer.

[anitaymoore]

Is anyone else here sick of this Repug vs. Dumbocrat crap?!!! Both parties are to blame for the situation we find ourselves in, for allowing greed to continue un-checked within major corporations and Wall Street, for throwing money away in a useless war (like we're going to change thousands of years of culture just because "America" intervenes.), for not regulating lenders who allowed people to sink themselves so far in debt that people chose to file bankruptcies instead of paying back loans, and for continually filibustering each other in congress instead of working together. This has been going on for years!!! Blame BOTH parties for this...then write your congressman/woman and tell them to grow the hell up, quit their squabbling and get to work on fixing this problem by WORKING TOGETHER on it instead of taking sides on it.

[retiredgustav]

I will answer the_majesty question with a question. What was the deficit when bush took office and what was it when he left? When you answer these questions you will have the answer. To go back father in 1982 the USA went from a creditor nation to a debitor nation.

[O_ReallyFactor]

Of course the poll results blame the Bush Administration. It's a CBS News poll. Do you really think CBS would have indicated blame anywhere else? Geez.