Zogby Poll - Public Rejects Obama Stimulus Bill

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Perception is reality in politics. And the perception among those out in flyover country is the stimulus package being pushed by the Democrats is a turkey. Or a pig. Or both. Regardless of which animal reference you choose to use, the fact is most Americans don’t think it will work. As further proof of that point, take a look at the latest ATI-News/Zogby results:

Public Rejects Obama Stimulus Bill According to New ATI-News/Zogby Poll

90 Percent of Republicans and 60 Percent of Independents Oppose Obama Economic Recovery Plan

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Amidst all the rhetoric surrounding President Barack Obama's first signature piece of legislation, a massive $800 billion economic "stimulus" bill, one thing is clear: a majority of Americans reject the President's handiwork. A just-released ATI-News/Zogby International poll shows that clear majorities of Republicans and Independents are against it.

Question #1: ATI-News/Zogby asked likely voters, "Some people say that the nearly one trillion dollars in debt and subsequent interest incurred by the stimulus bill during an economic downturn will make the recovery hard to achieve. Do you agree or disagree?"

Overall, 53 percent of Americans agree that the Obama stimulus bill will actually hinder economic recovery; while only 31 percent disagree (16 percent are not sure). Fifty-six percent of Independent voters also agree, while only 27 percent disagree (17 percent are not sure). A staggering 88 percent of Republicans agree and just 6 percent disagree (another 6 percent are not sure).

(When looking at these polls, I expect the majority of Democrats polled to support Democratic policy and the majority of Republicans not to support it. I key on self-identified independents who have the luxury of going whichever way they choose to go on each policy question. And in the case of this issue, independents are not at all impressed with it. So while President Obama’s personal approval ratings remain high (and that should come as no real surprise this early in his presidency), he’s not been able to convincingly sell this mess to a majority of Americans.)

Question #2: ATI-News/Zogby asked voters, "Some Republicans say the Obama stimulus package spends too much and stimulates too little. Do you agree or disagree?"

Fifty-seven percent of Independent voters agree that Obama's stimulus package spends too much and does little to stimulate the economy; while just 31 percent of Independents disagree (12 percent are not sure). Eighty-nine percent of Republicans also agree, while only 5 percent disagree (6 percent are not sure).

(It’s important to note here that a majority of independents are agreeing with Republicans on the issue. That lays the responsiblity for the bill squarely in the lap of the Democrats. Of course that’s a double-edged sword for Republicans on the off chance this bill somehow succeeds. But if I were giving odds, I’d go 80/20 against.)

Question #3: ATI-News/Zogby asked voters, "Most Republicans oppose the currently proposed stimulus bill supported by President Obama because they say there is too much money being spent for non-stimulus items. Do you agree or disagree that too much money is being spent on items that won't improve the economy?"

Sixty-six percent of Independent voters think Obama wants to spend too much money on items that won't improve the economy. As for Republicans, a staggering 93 percent agree.

Across the board, the poll found that, on average, 90 percent of Republicans and 60 percent of Independents disapprove of Obama's stimulus bill.

(The answer to this particular question shows the sharpest split and the largest majority of independents against the Obama bill. That sort of percentage means despite all the TV appearances, town hall meetings and press conferences, the message Obama has been putting out there has been rejected.

That means that Republicans have been at least partially successful in framing the debate. Of course they’ve been helped by the common sense argument that you can’t cure a problem brought on by borrowing and spending with more massive borrowing and spending. Somewhere, as the public knows and many have experienced, we have to pay up. The public has also had enough experience with government programs to know they’re never speedy, they’re wasteful and they’re poorly monitored. My guess is what you see reflected in those independent numbers is a healthy dose of both skepticism and mistrust.)

"Our poll numbers are no different than the ones being read in the White House," said ATI-News president Brad O'Leary. "That's why President Obama is being forced to campaign across America for his stimulus bill - 90 percent of Republicans and 60 percent of Independents oppose it."

Brad O'Leary is President of ATI-News, a bestselling author, and is a former NBC Westwood One talk show host. To interview Brad O'Leary, contact Peyton Knight at 202-828-1202 or email peytonknight@pm-direct.com.

The ATI-News/Zogby poll mentioned above was conducted February 5th through 9th of 7,010 voters and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 1.2 percentage points.

http://sev.prnewswire.com/television/20090...09022009-1.html

As the details of this bill have become public, the claim that there’s ‘no pork’ in it has been resoundingly rejected. The spin has not been effective and the public perceives this all as “business as usual” among Congress and Democrats. And it also isn’t helping the Obama image. Many now think he got rolled by Democratic leaders in Congress and, instead of displaying leadership, is now their front-guy trying to leverage his popularity into a win for this massive mess of a bill.

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Haste makes waste.

The bum's rush on all these "The Sky Is Falling" bills makes me think we're being conned - BIGTIME. Looks like the Keystone Cops are guarding Fort Knox.

Someone evidently doesn't know the difference between transparent and opaque. Or, doesn't want to.