Is Bush to Blame?
There’s a new president in office, but a new Zogby-Scoop 44 interactive survey shows nearly half of likely voters – 47% — put the blame for the nation’s current job losses squarely on the previous administration. While it comes as no surprise that Democrats are quick to find fault with the Bush administration and Republicans are much more likely to believe the policies of the Obama administration are largely responsible for the current unemployment figures, political independents are much more closely divided. Independent likely voters are slightly more likely to blame Bush administration policies (42%) than Obama administration policies (36%), and nearly one in five (18%) said neither administrations’ policies are the cause of rising unemployment.
The vast majority of those who believe the country is now headed in the right direction – 93% — believe that the previous administration is to blame for the country’s current job woes. Those who believe the country is on the wrong track, however, take the opposite view – 70% who think the U.S. is headed in the wrong direction also believe Obama administration policies are directly responsible for the nation’s job losses since he took office in January.
The survey also found that most 18- to 29-year-olds blame the economic policies of the Bush administration for the nation’s continued job losses, a demographic that Alexander Heffner expands on at Scoop 44.
Those from less –affluent households are most likely to blame Bush administration policies for the country’s job losses – nearly two-thirds of those with less than $25,000 in household income (62%) say the previous administration is responsible for job losses. As household income increases, likely voters are less likely to put the blame on Bush, but likely voters from all income levels are more likely to believe the Bush administration is more at fault than the Obama administration. Among those who have $100,000 or more in household income, 40% think the Bush administration is mostly to blame, but just as many (40%) think the policies of the Obama administration have primarily contributed to the nation’s job losses.
Do you believe the nation’s job losses are more the fault of the Bush or Obama administrations, or is neither administration at fault? As we get further along into Obama’s presidency, do you believe more people will hold the current administration’s policies responsible if job losses continue, or do you think Bush will continue to shoulder the brunt of the blame?
Loading ...
I realize the president’s poll numbers are dropping and he needs a boost. Time to roll out the “blame Bush” program again to rally the base. Get over it.
President Obama and his congress have QUADRUPLED the deficit. Certainly some of the blame lies with the Bush administration, but there’s plenty of blame left to go around.
To continue…
The interrelation between deficit and job losses is clear. Deficits harm the economy when they do not stimulate the economy or when they reduce private investment, thereby reducing growth.
The “Recovery Act” has spent a lot of our tax dollars but has done practically nothing to stimulate the economy. No stimulation of the economy = higher unemployment rates under the current president than the previous president despite claims that the stimulus would keep unemployment in check.
The “winner” of this losing race is the current president.
>The interrelation between deficit and job losses is clear.
Not clear to me. I credit sending jobs off shore for the job losses. There are two parallel economies in the US and the world. the economy of the workers and the economy of the owners. This is why a stock can jump when jobs are sent off shore. The purpose of international companies is to generate profit, not American jobs. They don’t care who buys their stuff as long as it is sold at a profit.