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What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls
Saturday, October 08, 2011 

Americans need something to believe in because right now their faith in the nation’s future is scraping rock bottom. 

Eighteen percent (18%) of Likely U.S. Voters say the country is heading in the right direction, down 14 points from last year.  Since late July, the number of voters who are confident in the nation’s current course has resembled levels measured in the final months of the Bush administration. In early May 2009, just months after President Obama took office, 40% felt things were headed the right way. 

Americans are less confident than ever that the United States is still number one economically. Just 29% of Adults now believe the United States has the best economy in the world.  Perhaps these views are driven in part by the increased skepticism that Americans have about Obama’s economic advisers. Just  31% are at least somewhat confident in those who advise the president on economic policy, with 14% who are Very Confident. 

At the beginning of 2011, Americans were more likely to believe that unemployment was heading down rather than up.  Pessimism has grown throughout the year and those expectations have now reversed. Thirty-six percent (36%) of Americans believe the unemployment rate will be higher one year from now and only 21% expect it to be lower. Just 12% say the job market is better today than it was a year ago, the lowest level of optimism measured since August 2009. 

The Rasmussen Consumer and Investor Indexes, which measure daily economic confidence, show that confidence remains down from the beginning of 2011 with most Americans believing that things are getting worse. 

The Rasmussen Employment Index, which measures workers’ perceptions of the labor market each month, regained some lost ground in September but is still down 10 points from last November when hiring expectations peaked. 

The president’s latest initiative is a sizable jobs creation bill, but just 31% of Americans see a major role for government in the jobs market, with 21% who think the government should hire those long out of work and 10% who say the government should extend unemployment benefits indefinitely.  Fifty-seven percent (57%) feel the government should largely butt out, with 32% who think it should do nothing at all and 25% who believe it should only pay for the retraining of the long-term unemployed. 

From their beginning in 2008, the bailouts for Wall Street and the auto industry have been among the most unpopular government actions in recent American history. New polling shows that even after three years, these attitudes haven’t changed all that much. Just 31% of American Adults believe it was a good idea for the government to provide bailout funding for General Motors and Chrysler. 

Similarly, only 20% think it was a good idea for the government to bailout banks and other financial institutions.  Most Americans feel as strongly as ever that the government was looking out for bankers rather than taxpayers and that crimes on Wall Street remain unpunished. 

No wonder than that 79% agree with the slogan now being chanted by protestors on Wall Street that “the big banks got bailed out, but the middle class got left behind.”  Perhaps given their view of how the bailouts worked for Wall Street rather than Main Street, it is not surprising that Americans strongly believe more free market competition rather than more government regulation is the way to solve the problem.

Yet while many activists try to link the Republican Party and Wall Street, Republicans think the bank bailouts were a bad idea by an eight-to-one margin.  Those not affiliated with either major party think they were a bad idea by a four-to-one margin. Democrats are much more evenly divided. 

Most voters still favor repeal of the national health care law and expect the law to drive up health care costs and the federal deficit. 

Working-age Americans also remain skeptical about receiving the Social Security benefits they were promised and mistakenly believe money in the Social Security Trust Fund can be used only to pay promised benefits.  Three-out-of four seniors expect to receive all their promised benefits, and those aged 50-64 are evenly divided. Among those under 50, a majority does not expect such a return. 

Given this economic pessimism, it’s no surprise that the president’s job approval ratings remain at record lows.  The full-month Presidential Approval Index rating for September also remains at an all-time low of -21.  Aside from the past two-months, the president’s approval index rating has stayed between -11 and -17 since the beginning of 2010. 

However, voters overwhelmingly reject the idea that opponents of Oabama’s policies are motivated primarily by racism, although there’s a strong difference of opinion between blacks and whites on this question. 

A generic Republican held a six-point advantage over the president – 47% to 41% - in a hypothetical 2012 matchup for the week ending Sunday, October 2.  The generic candidate has now led Obama weekly for three months in a row. 

Georgia businessman Herman Cain has been surging in the race for the Republican nomination. support in recent days This weekend, in addition to reviewing the latest public opinion news, the Rasmussen Report on radio will feature an interview with the GOP presidential hopeful. The Rasmussen Report airs live at 3:06 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday. It can be heard on WLS 890AM in Chicago, WMAL 105.9 FM and 630 AM in Washington, and online everywhere.  After the interview with Cain, Scott Rasmussen will take your calls. 

While Rick Perry continues to take a hammering in the media and from his opponents for the Republican presidential nomination, Obama’s single-digit lead over the Texas governor – 43% to 37% - remains virtually unchanged over the past month.  Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum continues to trail the president by double-digits – 45% to 34% - in a potential 2012 matchup.  Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson who recently made his first Republican debate appearance earns the lowest level of support against Obama out of all the 2012 GOP hopefuls.  He trails the president 42% to 27%. 

In 2008, Obama became the first Democrat to win Virginia’s Electoral College votes since the Beatles were a brand new act in America in 1964. However, an early look at the 2012 race in the Old Dominion suggests winning twice in a row is not a sure thing for the president. 

Voters are fairly satisfied with the number of debates in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, but most don’t think debate moderators ask enough about the major issues facing the nation. 

Republicans continue to lead Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot as they have for well over two years now.  The number of Republicans and Democrats in the country is just about even.  The gap between the parties is the smallest it has ever been in nearly nine years of monthly tracking. 

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