CNN Poll: GOP takes brunt of blame for economy, Obama gains Posted: 04:03 PM ET From CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser The nation's economic woes appear to be taking a toll on McCain. WASHINGTON (CNN) â A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll suggests that by a 2-to-1 margin, Americans blame Republicans over Democrats for the financial crisis that has swept across the country the past few weeks â one factor that may have contributed to an apparent increase in Barack Obamaâs edge over John McCain in the race for the White House. In the new survey, released Monday afternoon, 47 percent of registered voters questioned say Republicans are more responsible for the problems currently facing financial institutions and the stock market, with 24 percent saying Democrats are more responsible. One in five of those polled blame both parties equally, and 8 percent say neither party is to blame. Watch: No 'blank check' for Wall Street Obama says The poll also indicates that more Americans think Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, would do a better job handling an economic crisis than McCain, the Republican presidential nominee. Forty-nine percent of those questioned say Obama would display good judgment in an economic crisis, 6 points higher than the number who said the same about McCain. And Obama has a 10 point lead over McCain on the question of who would better handle the economy overall. Watch: McCain calls for oversight board These numbers appear to be affecting the battle for the presidency. Fifty-one percent of registered voters are backing Obama, who now holds a 5 point edge over McCain, at 46 percent. McCain and Obama were tied at 48 percent apiece in the previous CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey. Obama's advantage, while growing, is still within the poll's sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Where did Obama make his gains? "In two core McCain constituencies: Men, who now narrowly favor Obama. And seniors, who have also flipped from McCain to Obama," says CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider. When including only those people most likely to vote, the results are pretty much the same: Among likely voters, Obama has a 4 point lead, 51 percent to 47 percent. The new CNN poll of polls also shows Obama with a similar advantage â 49 percent for Obama to 44 percent for John McCain. "The economy has always been considered John McCain's Achillesâ heel, and the CNN poll of polls started to show an Obama edge in the middle of last week â just as the financial crisis began to hit home for many Americans," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. The poll also expands to include third party candidates. When included in the results, Obama has the backing of 48 percent of likely voters, three points ahead of McCain at 45 percent. Independent Ralph Nader has the support of 4 percent of those polled, with Libertarian candidate Bob Barr and Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney each at one percent. A couple of other factors in the survey appear to be contributing to Obama's slight rise and McCain's slight drop in the polls. Fifty-three percent of those questioned say McCain, if elected, will mostly carry out the policies of President George W. Bush, who remains extremely unpopular with most Americans. That's up 3 points from our previous poll. The survey also indicates Obama's recaptured the advantage on "change": Just after the Republican convention, Obama's lead had shrunk to 8 points when voters were asked which candidate would be more likely to bring change. It's now up to 14 points in the new poll. Another factor could be McCain's running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Thirty-five percent of those questioned have an unfavorable opinion of her, up 8 points from our previous survey. And two-thirds believe she and her husband should testify in the Alaska investigation into her firing of a state official. "Change has always been Obama's strong suit, but McCain and Palin clearly made inroads into that issue during the GOP convention," said Holland. "Palin, in particular, was seen as an agent of change when she made her first appearance on the national stage. That may be changing now." The poll also sheds more light on how Americans feel about the financial crisis. Twenty-two percent say they are scared about the crisis, with two-thirds concerned. Eleven percent say they are not worried. Most Americans think that the programs to deal with the financial crisis currently being worked on by Congress and the Bush administration will be unfair to U.S. Taxpayers â but they think those programs will ultimately help the economy. In general, six in ten believe that federal government should step in and address the financial crisis; 37 percent say the government should stay out. But when it comes to last week's bailouts, support slips to 55 percent â and given the concerns about how future programs will affect taxpayers, it conceivable that public support for the plans that Congress and the administration are working on could fall even lower. The survey comes out just four days before McCain and Obama face off in the first of three presidential debates. Will the debates make a difference? Probably, since the poll finds that 14 percent of Americans say they haven't made up their minds yet. The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted Friday through Sunday, and included interviews of 1,020 Americans, including 909 registered voters and 697 likely voters.
Let's hope he does a better job than he did with these real estate deals: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=137902 Mice scamper through the halls. Battered mailboxes hang open. Sewage backs up into kitchen sinks. In 2006, federal inspectors graded the condition of the complex an 11 on a 100-point scale â a score so bad the buildings now face demolition. Sewage backups seem to be a common problem in Davisâs low-income slums â another of his buildings, Appelbaum reports, was cited in 2007 âafter chronic plumbing failures resulted in raw sewage spilling into several apartments.â
Boy, I bet you really care about housing condition in the slum areas and low income housing, and are not simply playing politics with this strawman...
Just some input on how he handled some situations in the past. Let's face it, he doesn't have a substantial record to look at, other than a few things like this. And I assume you welcome the input since your not simply playing politics. OldTrader
Dodge. You employed a strawman and now you try to dance twirl away from it. The poll is not about who will be most capable of fixing the problem, but who is to blame for the problem. Another right wing dullard trying to spin away from the truth of public opinion right now...
This is the part of your article I posted and responded to: So it's about who would do a better job handling an economic crisis, NOT "who is to blame for the problem". Next time, give a shot at reading and comprehending the post eh? I posted an article that goes to the question of how capable Obama has handled certain economic issues he was involved with in the past. Talk about "dodge", you might try to address the post, if you can. OldTrader
The poll "also" indicated that, but the article's focus is about the 2-1 margin who think the GOP is to blame for the current problem. Your strawman doesn't change that equation...nor is your strawman addressing the current problem with the financial crisis. Anyway you spin it, your effort is the typical and predictable right wing strawman technique to distract away from the fact that the poll reports that an overwhelming majority of those polled blame the GOP for the problem. The more the republicans try to deny they have a problem, the bigger it becomes...
Most Americans have a low IQ, so what does this poll really mean? Two thirds of Americans are stupid that's what.
Statistically speaking, half of Americans have IQ's below about 100. According to SAT and ACT measurements, most of those live in the red south. In other words, it's fair to say that the remaining 29% that don't blame the Republicans for the economy are probably wearing helmets.