Obama's America (Part 1): The State Of The Nation--The Economy
Posted Jan 06, 2009 at 6:42 AM by Maurice Berger
Over the next week, PollTrack will publish a daily, six-part series--Obama's
America: The State Of The Nation--that will examine public opinion and the attitudes of American voters about a
range of issues facing the new president, from the economy and energy to voter
expectations about the new administration. Collectively the series will offer a comprehensive look at the state of
the nation through public opinion on the ground as Obama takes office. Today's
topic: The Economy. Public reaction and response to the economic crisis has been
mixed in recent weeks. For one, voters remain pessimistic about the economy:
Nationally, only 9% of adults rate the economy as either good or excellent. 61%
disagree and say the economy is in poor condition. Voters tend to support
president-elect Obama's proposal for a comprehensive and massive stilumlous
package: 56% of respondents say they favor the stimulus package that
President-elect Barack Obama is proposing; 42% were opposed.The poll concludes:
"Two-thirds of the public thinks the stimulus package will do just that, with
17% saying it will help the economy a lot and another 50% feeling that it will
help the economy somewhat. 21% percent say the stimulus package won't help the
economy very much and 10% say it won't help at all." Yet, the recent economic
crisis had led led "mixed feelings" about government intervention: 70% of
respondents say a free market is better than one managed by the government. Just
15% prefer a government-managed economy. 15% remain undecided. Still, a majority
of voters--a healthy 52%--also believe there is a need for more government
regulation of big business, although 35% disagree. 13% are unsure. These numbers suggest a highly vulnerable electorate, uncertain of the best way to handle the present economic crisis, unsure of how much government can do, but generally confident in the new president's ability to handle the situation.
