Recent polling shows that Americans think we have a spending problem, not a taxing problem, and that Republicans are the party they trust to deal with that problem. A USA Today/Gallup poll released this week shows that Americans trust Republicans over Democrats on the deficit issue by a whopping 12-point margin (48 to 36 percent). That margin is made possible in large part because independents trust Republicans over Democrats by a margin of 17 points (47 to 30 percent). 

The poll shows a nearly dead even split on the question of who offers “the better long-term plan” for dealing with deficits: Paul Ryan (43 percent) or President Obama (44 percent). But that question is itself quite generous to the president, as it’s not at all clear that he even has a plan. He issued a budget, then gave a speech that rhetorically seemed to disavow his budget, yet hasn’t offered an actual second budget to complement his speech. The only plan, therefore, that is clear enough to have been the subject of attacks — from the man with the biggest microphone by far — is Ryan’s, and yet the two are in a dead heat.