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Rasmussen...
What They Told Us:
Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Americans began the week finding themselves in military action in yet
another Islamic country.
At week’s end, voters expressed mixed feelings about President Obama’s
decision to help rebels in Libya overthrow longtime dictator Moammar
Gadhafi, and nearly half agreed that he should have gotten Congress’
okay first.
Earlier in the week, voters were more supportive of an American role in
the Libyan crisis than they had been before U.S. missiles began to
strike but also were more critical of the president’s handling of the
situation.
While the Obama administration presses on with the military mission in
Libya, just 28% of Likely U.S. Voters think the North African country
is a vital national security interest for the United States these days.
Forty-two percent (42%) disagree and say Libya is not important to U.S.
national security, while a sizable 29% are not sure.
Still, voters’ views of Obama’s leadership style have rebounded from
last month’s all-time low. Forty-four percent (44%) of voters now give
the president good or excellent marks for leadership, up from 37% in
February. Thirty-seven percent (37%) continue to give him poor marks as
a leader.
The president’s job approval ratings show no overall improvement,
however, in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.
Voters continue to blame the country’s economic problems more on the
recession that began under the Bush administration than on Obama’s
policies. But the number of voters nationwide who give the current
president good or excellent marks for his handling of economic issues
has fallen to a new low of 31%.
But then Americans are now showing less optimism about long-term
economic recovery than ever before. Only 46% of American Adults now
think the U.S. economy will be stronger in five years, the lowest
finding since regular surveying on the question began in January 2009.
There is even more pessimism about the short-term economy.
Other regular Rasmussen Reports surveying finds little optimism about
the economy.
A majority of Americans still think that purchasing a home is the best
investment a family can make, but they also say overwhelmingly that now
is not the time for someone in their area to sell a house.
Nearly one-third (31%) of U.S. homeowners continue to say that they owe
more on their mortgage than their home is worth, a figure that has
ranged from 28% to 36% in surveys since April 2009. Scott Rasmussen
takes a closer look at the troubled housing market in a new video.
Forty-four percent (44%) of Adults now say it’s possible for anyone who
really wants to work to find a job, but just as many (44%) disagree.
Americans have been evenly divided on this question since July
2009. This number was at its lowest point in January 2010 when it
dipped to 39% and was at its highest a year earlier at 52%.
The Rasmussen Consumer and Investor Indexes, which measure the economic
confidence of both groups on a daily basis, were slightly improved this
past week but are still down from the beginning of the year. Half of
consumers (50%) say the economy is getting worse, as do a plurality
(45%) of investors.
The new Congress continues to battle over major spending cuts which
most voters think are key to a better economy. Voters nationwide view
the leaders of Congress a little more favorably this month, with House
Speaker John Boehner earning his highest positive rating to date.
It’s been two months since Republicans regained control of the House of
Representatives, and they are now trusted more than Democrats on nine
out of 10 important issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports
including the economy, taxes, health care and national security.
Republicans hold an eight-point lead over Democrats – 45% to 37% - on
the Generic Congressional Ballot.
Speaking of politics, Rasmussen Reports has begun testing a number of
policy statements routinely expressed in the political arena, asking
voters if that position is held mostly by conservatives, mostly by
liberals, if the view is shared by most Americans or if hardly anybody
believes it.
Forty-six percent (46%) of voters, for example, say Ronald Reagan’s
inaugural statement that “government is not the solution to our
problem, government is the problem” is held mostly by conservatives,
but 40% recognize it is shared by most Americans.
The Obama administration has acted on the belief that increased
government spending is good for the economy, but a solid plurality of
voters recognize that this view is not widely shared by the American
people.
Most voters have consistently said for years that tax cuts are good for
the economy, but the new survey data shows voters tend to underestimate
the public support for that position.
The president, former Vice President Al Gore and the United Nations,
among others, argue that global warming is chiefly caused by human
activity. A plurality of voters recognize that this view is held mostly
by liberals rather than by most Americans.
Fifty percent (50%) of Likely Voters recognize that most Americans
favor congressional term limits. Just 20% believe it is a view held
mostly by conservatives. Only eight percent (8%) think that hardly
anybody supports term limits.
Read the full story with links at Rasmussen
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