Majority in US oppose Obama policies

NY Times:

A substantial majority of Americans say President Obama has not developed a strategy to deal with the budget deficit, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, which also found that support for his plans to overhaul health care, rescue the auto industry and close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, falls well below his job approval ratings.

The poll found a distinct gulf between Mr. Obama’s overall standing and how some of his key initiatives are viewed, with fewer than half of Americans saying they approve of how he has handled health care and the effort to save General Motors and Chrysler. A majority of people said his policies have had either no effect yet on improving the economy or had made it worse, underscoring how his political strength still rests on faith in his leadership rather than concrete results.

As Mr. Obama finishes his fifth month in office and assumes greater ownership of the problems he inherited, Americans are alarmed by the hundreds of billions of dollars that have been doled out to boost the economy. A majority said the government should instead focus on reducing the federal deficit.

...

The poll highlights the political and governing challenges on the horizon for Mr. Obama, including the towering federal budget deficit, which is expected to push the national debt to levels that many economists say could threaten the economy’s long-term vitality. Six in 10 people surveyed said the administration has yet to develop a clear plan for dealing with the deficit, including 65 percent of independents.

...
While other polling shows that the Republicans have eked ahead of the Democrats on the generic ballot, this poll gives the Democrats a huge advantage is party favorabilty. That may mean it was a skewed sample. Perhaps it is just because I have such a low regard for Democrats, but it makes no sense to me that they would have such a high rating when most of their major initiatives are opposed by a majority of voters. Perhaps the sample they picked was totally irrational in terms of favoring the Democrats. Those issues where Obama is having a problem are the ones that motivated the Tea Party movement and the polling suggest that movement is gaining support.

Update: Yep the polling was skewed toward Obama voters.

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