American voters are more confident that the economy will improve in the next year, but trust in major institutions continues to fall -- a slump that mirrors Pres. Obama's tumbling approval rating.
Seven in 10 voters say the economy will improve over the next 12 months, according to the new Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll, while just 27% believe the economy will worsen. But 56% of voters say they have less confidence that elected officials in DC will make good financial and economic decisions.
As trust in national institutions falls, so has Obama's approval rating. Just 48% approve of the job Obama is doing, while 46% disapprove, the poll shows. That's down from a 61% approval rating Obama sported in an Allstate/National Journal poll conducted in April '09.
Voters have lost faith in Obama to craft solutions to the country's economic challenges. Just 39% say they trust Obama more than GOPers in Congress, while 32% say they believe the GOP has the right ideas. That 7-point gap is down from a 29-point Obama advantage in the April '09 poll.
Only 39% of voters said they would vote to re-elect Pres. Obama if the election were held today, while 50% say they would vote for someone else. A quarter of voters would definitely vote to re-elect Obama, while 37% would definitely vote for someone else.
Interesting how 48 percent approve, yet only 39 percent would vote to reelect Obama... Who are these people? What accounts for this gap? Anyone have a theory?
If both questions were asked on the same poll, it's hard to explain the disparity. Maybe, people who approved but wouldn't vote for him, were invested in one particular policy - example: HCR, and really approved of one specific thing Obama has done, but are worried about the general direction he's moving the country, and the fact that they now know he is just another politician - bought and paid for by big business, big pharma, and BP, among others. Maybe the people who wouldn't vote for him, even tho they "approve" of him feel like fools for believing he was the messiah.
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It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.... Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less. ~Susan B. Anthony