A new poll shows Republicans making solid gains, and President Obama losing ground, in public opinion on the most important issues facing the country.
The survey, by the Washington Post and ABC News asks the question, “Who do you trust to do a better job handling” a particular issue — President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Obama has out-polled the GOP on the question from the moment of his swearing in, but the poll shows his advantage shrinking dramatically.
Asked who they trust to better handle the economy, those surveyed pick Obama over the GOP by 47 percent to 42 percent, giving the president a five-point margin. But in November, in the same poll, Obama led by 15 points. Last July, he led by 23 points. And last February, he his lead was 55 points. So in the course of a single year, Obama’s lead over Republicans has shrunk from 55 points to five.
Results are similar in other areas. On who is more trusted to handle health care reform, Obama has a five-point lead over the GOP, 46 percent to 41 percent. In November, that lead was 13 percent. Last July it was 20 percent. On who is more trusted to handle the federal budget deficit, Obama has a two-point lead, 45 percent to 43 percent. Last September, that lead was 14 percent. Last June, it was 26 percent. On who is more trusted to handle the threat of terrorism, Obama has a five-point lead, 47 percent to 42 percent. Last September his lead was ten percent. Last June it was 21 percent.
In all these areas, the gap has narrowed not only because trust in Obama is declining; the polls also show trust in Republicans increasing.
In addition, the Post and ABC found that the public is glad that Republicans now have the power in the Senate to block Obama initiatives. The pollsters asked, “Republicans now hold enough seats in the U.S. Senate to block any legislation Obama and the Senate Democrats propose. Overall, do you think this is (a good thing because it will force Obama and the Democrats to cooperate more with the Republicans); OR (a bad thing because it will enable the Republicans to set terms before allowing anything to go forward)?” Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed say it’s a good thing, versus 36 percent who say it’s a bad thing. That does not mean that people want Republicans to use their power to block all of Obama’s initiatives; when asked how often the GOP should use that power, 10 percent say “almost always,” 15 percent say “a great deal,” 49 percent say “just some” and 16 percent say “rarely.” The bottom line is that people are happy to have a Republican check on Obama, even though they don’t want to see it exercised all the time.
All in all, the poll shows the public growing increasingly confident in the GOP’s ability to handle critical issues. The public would not have approved of a Republican check on Obama’s power several months ago, when trust in the GOP was at an astonishingly low level. Now, with trust increasing, they want to see the GOP exercise more influence. In that sense, when Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown pledged to be the 41st Republican senator — that is, to be the lawmaker who could help block some Obama initiatives — he was speaking for the country as well as his state.
