9 of 10 Americans worry about Obama's spending deficits: Poll

Most of today's news attention will focus on the White House Rose Garden and President Obama's news conference (live blogging starts here, latimes.com/ticket, at 9:30 a.m. Pacific, 12:30 p.m. Eastern, 4:30 p.m. GMT).

Meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden flies way out West to Ohio today to talk about helping the middle class and the nation's economy.

But just a few months after congressional passage of the administration's whopping $787-billion economic stimulus plan, a new national poll shows Americans' confidence in its efficacy fading, especially in the Midwest, where Biden is heading.

Just about half (52%) believe the much-touted stimulus plan will or has had any impact restoring the economy, down from 59% in April. The Washington Post-ABC Poll found Obama's personal popularity remains high, in part because his Republican opposition remains in such disarray unable to offer a coherent political alternative.

The poll found:

The shift in public assessments of the stimulus package has clear political ramifications: At the 100-day mark of Obama's presidency, 63 percent of people in states that were decided by fewer than 10 percentage points in November said the stimulus act had or would boost the economy.

Today, in the telephone poll of 1,001 Americans conducted Thursday through Sunday, the number has plummeted to 50 percent in those closely contested states, with nearly as many now saying the stimulus program will not help the national economy.

The new poll confirms other surveys showing the president's popularity dipping slightly, his disapproval rating jumping about 5% and particular unhappiness focused on his handling of the automobile manufacturing crisis and the federal deficit. They add up to a serious warning signal, with unemployment lines (see photo) expected to increase even further.

Currently, 90% of Americans are worried to some degree about the exploding federal spending deficit, a galactic number certain to gain politicians' attention on both sides. And yet to come is the final bill for Obama's healthcare legislation.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Associated Press

Comments

[benintn]

They're not "Obama's" deficits. The deficits belong to all Americans. We didn't get into this situation overnight. We got here through years of deficit spending that began in the 1970s. They continued through the 1980s with Reaganomics. Bush raised the debt from $5T to $10T. This is not Obama's fault.

[woodstock1969]

We have a huge amount of folks who cashed out on their real estate because they loved being rich and would not let a downturn in prices change that, then we had a huge amount of folks who see some entitlement program as their ticket to an easy life, and now we have an administration who is raining money on everybody so there is no pain anywhere. Does anyone even care anymore that President Obama allocated $1.25 billion dollars as Reparation for all the prejudice black farmers have supposedly suffered. Not even a blink! Just give it all away to anybody, but then make the taxpayers suffer with closed parks, less police, higher taxes,...
Where does this lead and how does it change. Nobody seems to care. Carpe Diem with no pain.

[AW]

Way out west to Ohio? Are you kidding me? It's within decent driving distance to DC

[richard10516]

You continue to perpetuate the fallacy that the Republicans didn't have an alternative for the outrageous budget rammed through Congress at the request of the Obama administration before anyone, including Democrats, had a chance to read it. House Minority Leader John Boehner even went as far as releasing a YouTube video outlining alternatives after Obama's bogus press conference claiming there were none. While you're searching YouTube look up Bush's April 2001 warning that GSE [including Fannie and Freddie] were reaching dangerous levels and Secretary Snows warnings that they have reached a critical mass.

If you're going to do opinion peaces move to the editorials. Otherwise keep your opinions to yourselves!

[e-man]

Tax and spend.

And don't forget the role Congress has played creating the fiacso that Obama 'Inherited'.

[Michael]

9 out of 10 should develop some patience then, and spend some time educating themselves. Most of this deficit is the result of Bush era policies and the economic downturn. It will take time to turn this around.

[George Douglas]

President Obama is destroying our country. It saddens me to know so many uninformed people still support this idiot. He is a getto community organizer whose job it was to teach people too lazy to work how to live off of government programs paid for by hard working Americans. He bought millions of their votes by promising a tax cut for those that didn't even pay taxes. Now he is trying to keep their support by creating billions of dollars in government plans, again paid for by hard working Americans. By billing the same working Americans for covering the health care of 42 million people, the majority of which live off of our hard work now, he is trying to keep the support of the welfare types that lay around drugged up or drunk making babies for us to pay to raise.

[wilyhusker]

This stimulus/bailout is costing us a trillion bucks. And this new healthcare plan will add another $ trillion, and will still leave 36 million people uninsured. All owed to China. In what universe does this make any sense?

[Heidi]

DUHHHHH.. Hello, what did you expect when you all voted him in?? Oh, wait, who knows what to expect, he hasn't released school grades, bc, med records, etc. Didn't know a damn thing about him did you, except he gives a good speech, at least the teleprompter does. He's a puppet, the puppet master is Geo Soros...

[Charles J]

You can see a graph here from the Washington Post that shows Obama's deficit spending, not the GOP's, from 2010 to 2019 will dwarf all spending by the US Government since 1776.

That's without the insane health bill or carbon cap and tax.

http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2009/06/debt-star-implodes.html

[info]

Amen George Douglas,
You stated true facts. I have lived in the ghetto environment and witnessed many of these kind of lazy people living off the government and wanting nothing else.

[Constantinos]

This ALL of Hussein Erkle Obama (Jimmy Carter Jr.)'s fault, as well as liar Pelosi, Dead Fish Emmanuel. Elmer Fudd Barney Frank, Knucle Head Biden... In a nutshell, the current presidency, administration and most of the House & Senate. No one else! To blame it on anyone else displays obvious stupidity.