Majority of Americans Still Have Confidence in White House to Fix Economic Crisis
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-(Business Wire)-August 26, 2009 - While President Obama’s rating on the economy continues to decline, Americans still have confidence in the White House and trust the Administration to do what is right for the American economy. But, this level of trust and confidence is on a downward trend over the past few months.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,498 U.S. adults surveyed online between August 10 and 18, 2009 by Harris Interactive®.
Confidence and trust in White House and Administration
Over half of Americans (53%) are confident that the White House and the Administration will produce policies to help fix the economic crisis, but just under half (47%) are not confident. In April, 57% of Americans were confident and in May, 55% were confident so there is a steady downward movement in this confidence level.
When it comes to trusting political figures to do what is right on the economy, three in five Americans (61%) trust President Obama to do what is right and over half (54%) trust the president’s economic advisors. Members of Congress do not fare as well as over half (55%) do not trust Democrats in Congress to do what is right for the American economy and two-thirds (67%) do not trust Republicans in Congress.
Again, these numbers are showing a downward trend. In March, two-thirds of Americans (66%) trusted President Obama to do what is right and in May that number was 64%. Trust in his economic advisors and both Democrats and Republicans in Congress has also dropped since May.
Who Americans’ Blame for Economic Problems
When it comes to blame for the country’s economic problems large majorities of Americans place the blame on Republicans in Congress (85%), former President George W. Bush (83%) and Democrats in Congress (75%). In fact, over half of U.S. adults (52%) place a great deal of blame on President Bush for the country’s economic problems. However just one-third (33%) blame President Obama for the country’s economic problems with 40% saying he deserves no blame at all.
Stimulus Plan
While the White House continues to tout the stimulus plan that was passed earlier this year, the American public is of a different mind on it and three in five (59%) say it was not successful and 41% say it was successful. Not surprisingly, 86% of Republicans say it was not successful compared to 38% of Democrats, but 62% of Independents also say the plan has not been successful. There is an interesting regional difference in play as well as over half of Easterners (51%) say the plan has been successful compared to 40% of Midwesterners, 38% of Southerners and 36% of Westerners.
So What?
As the President has focused on health care over the past few weeks, he and his administration have to be careful not to let the good news from various economic sources cloud the pain the American public is still feeling. As it takes longer for this good news to translate into more money in people’s wallets and checking accounts, they are still a bit fearful as to what will happen next. And this fear is translating into a lessening of confidence and trust in the White House and Administration. If President Obama focuses too much attention on health care, he risks having Americans lose even more confidence in him on economic issues. As both are extremely important to the American public, the administration can’t be seen as focusing too deeply on one over the other – a delicate balance needs to be found.
The Harris Poll® #94
By Regina A. Corso, Director, The Harris Poll
Methodology
The Harris Poll® was conducted online within the United States August 10 and 18, 2009, among 2,498 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. Full data tables and methodology are available at www.harrisinteractive.com.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.
Harris Interactive Inc. 8/09
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