More USAToday Polling: 50% Say Obama Doesn't Deserve Election; More Than Half Say Obama Deserves At Least "Moderate Blame" For Economy

Kind of weak, really, that only around half are willing to say he's earned moderate blame for an economy he's presided over for 14 months (and an economy whose major spending bills he all voted for as Senator before), but this represents positive movement (for us) on the question. Remember, the public has generally wanted to blame Bush for the economy.

Americans anxious about unemployment and the economy increasingly blame President Obama for hard times, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, amid signs of turbulence in November's midterm elections.

...

In the survey last Friday through Sunday, the president gets tough treatment:

• Obama's standing on four key personal qualities, including being a strong and decisive leader and understanding the problems Americans face in their lives, has dipped. For the first time since the 2008 campaign, he fails to win a majority of people saying he shares their values and can manage the government effectively.

• Twenty-six percent say he deserves "a great deal" of the blame for the nation's economic problems, nearly double the number who felt that way last summer. In all, half say he deserves at least a moderate amount of blame.

The blame directed at his predecessor, former president George W. Bush, hasn't eased, however: 42% now give Bush "a great deal" of blame, basically unchanged from 43% last July.

• By 50%-46%, those surveyed say Obama doesn't deserve re-election.

Hmmmm... less than a majority says he "shares their values." As I was remarking in that Letterman post, that's a big problem for The One.

posted by Ace at 04:06 PM

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