November 17, 2010 - Few U.S. Voters Look For Love In White House Meeting, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Voters Down On Obama, Democrats And Republicans Word format Three out of four American voters think the White House meeting Thursday between congressional leaders and President Barack Obama is unlikely to produce meaningful results, as they turn thumbs down on everyone involved, the president, congressional Republicans and congressional Democrats, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. American voters disapprove 49 - 44 percent of the job President Obama is doing, statistically unchanged from his 47 - 44 percent disapproval, his lowest grade, in a September 9 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University, conducted by live interviewers. But voters disapprove 63 - 27 percent of the job Republicans in Congress are doing and disapprove 66 - 27 percent of the job Democrats are doing. Looking at the Bush tax cuts: 35 percent of voters say the tax cuts should continue for everyone; 43 percent say the tax cuts should continue only for those earning less than $250,000; 14 percent say all the tax cuts should expire. When it comes to the public's priorities, 45 percent want more spending to stimulate job creation, while 32 percent want the budget deficit reduced and 17 percent want taxes cut. Support for spending to create jobs ranges from 35 percent among upper income voters to 53 percent for lower income voters. "President Barack Obama's job approval is an ominous measure of his problems with American voters," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "He does poorly among whites, older voters, men, political independents and those who earn more than $50,000 a year." "We see similar results on whether the country is better off because of the president's policies, and his handling of the economy. He has lost his majority support in the middle class and that's why his numbers remain at an all-time low," Brown added. Obama should compromise his positions on major issues, 72 percent of voters say, while 63 percent want Republican congressional leaders to compromise. Voters say 48 - 44 percent that Obama's policies will hurt rather than help the country in the long run. While voters say 59 - 36 percent the president should change his course in response to this month's election results, they say 49 - 41 percent that he will not do so. Voters say 45 - 42 percent that congressional Republicans rather than President Obama are best able to handle the economy. Voters split on health care as 45 percent trust Republicans more and 44 percent trust Obama more. Voter pessimism about Thursday's White House meeting on reducing the federal deficit is palpable. They say 73 - 22 percent the two sides are too far apart to produce meaningful results. A majority of every demographic group feels that way. "Americans want both sides to compromise, but they want the president to make concessions more than they do congressional Republicans," said Brown. As for the congressional leaders meeting with Obama, voters have very low opinions of the Democrats and know very little about the Republicans: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gets a negative 25 - 55 percent favorability rating; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid gets a 17 - 39 percent score; Republican U.S. Rep. John Boehner, the future House speaker, gets a split 20 - 19 percent favorable rating, with 61 percent who don't know enough about him to form an opinion; Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leaders, gets a negative 14 - 20 percent rating with 65 percent who don't know enough about him. Voters still say 43 - 37 percent that Barack Obama is a better president than George W. Bush, who is viewed unfavorably by American voters 54 - 41 percent. From November 8 - 15, Quinnipiac University surveyed 2,424 registered voters nationwide with a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 16. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 44% 9% 81% 37% 40% 49% 37% 87% 65% Disapprove 49 88 15 55 56 44 57 8 29 DK/NA 6 4 4 8 5 7 6 6 6 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 59% 42% 39% 51% 43% 39% 78% 56% 17% Disapprove 35 53 55 43 51 57 17 36 79 DK/NA 6 5 6 6 6 3 5 8 3 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Approve 43% 49% 20% 27% 35% Disapprove 51 47 75 69 58 DK/NA 7 4 5 4 7 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? (*High also 59% Mar 2009 **Low also 44% Jul 2010, Apr 2010, Sep 2010) PstHlth APPROVE....... VtPoll High Low Nov 17 Sep 09 Jul 21 May 26 Mar 25 Jun 4 Nov 17 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009* 2010** Approve 44 44 44 48 45 59 44 Disapprove 49 47 48 43 46 31 49 DK/NA 6 9 8 9 9 10 6 17. Do you think Barack Obama has been a better President than George W. Bush, worse, or about the same as President Bush? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Better 43% 3% 78% 40% 40% 45% 35% 81% 61% Worse 37 81 5 32 39 34 44 1 19 The same 19 14 15 26 19 18 19 14 19 DK/NA 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 4 2 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Better 58% 38% 38% 48% 42% 38% 80% 52% 14% Worse 23 39 42 30 40 45 7 21 67 The same 18 21 16 20 17 15 13 25 17 DK/NA 1 2 3 2 2 1 - 2 3 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Better 40% 50% 18% 24% 32% Worse 38 33 64 56 41 The same 19 16 15 17 26 DK/NA 3 1 3 2 2 TREND: Do you think Barack Obama has been a better President than George W. Bush, worse, or about the same as President Bush? Nov 17 Jul 21 Jan 13 2010 2010 2010 Better 43 42 43 Worse 37 32 30 About the same 19 23 23 DK/NA 2 3 4 18. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Democrats in Congress are handling their job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 27% 5% 53% 18% 23% 31% 22% 58% 43% Disapprove 66 92 37 77 73 59 73 32 46 DK/NA 7 3 10 5 4 10 6 10 10 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 36% 26% 23% 35% 25% 15% 45% 32% 13% Disapprove 57 67 70 56 69 81 47 60 82 DK/NA 8 6 7 9 6 4 8 8 4 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Approve 28% 24% 17% 16% 22% Disapprove 64 70 79 78 74 DK/NA 8 5 4 5 4 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Democrats in Congress are handling their job? (*Low also 30% Sep 2010) PstHlth PreHlth APPROVE..... VtPoll VtPoll High Low Nov 17 Sep 09 Jul 21 Mar 25 Mar 25 Mar 4 Nov 17 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 Approve 27 30 31 36 30 45 27 Disapprove 66 60 59 55 62 45 66 DK/NA 7 10 10 9 8 10 7 19. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling their job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 27% 54% 10% 21% 28% 26% 30% 8% 32% Disapprove 63 38 81 68 64 62 60 82 60 DK/NA 10 8 9 11 9 12 10 10 8 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 28% 28% 26% 26% 24% 33% 8% 20% 42% Disapprove 63 62 63 63 68 60 85 69 49 DK/NA 9 10 11 11 7 7 7 12 9 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Approve 28% 25% 42% 35% 29% Disapprove 61 67 49 53 63 DK/NA 11 8 10 11 8 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling their job? PstHlth PreHlth APPROVE....... VtPoll VtPoll High Low Nov 17 Sep 09 Jul 21 Mar 25 Mar 25 Mar 25 Oct 8 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 Approve 27 29 29 34 31 34 25 Disapprove 63 59 59 58 60 58 64 DK/NA 10 12 12 8 9 8 11 21. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in the nation today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Very satisfied 3% 1% 7% 2% 2% 5% 2% 12% 5% Smwht satisfied 24 6 44 18 21 27 19 50 42 Smwht dissatisfied 29 28 31 29 29 29 31 20 23 Very dissatisfied 42 65 17 50 46 38 46 17 30 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Very satisfied 5% 2% 4% 5% 3% 2% 5% 3% 2% Smwht satisfied 33 24 19 29 23 18 40 28 12 Smwht dissatisfied 31 29 27 27 32 32 35 38 20 Very dissatisfied 31 44 47 39 40 47 19 30 64 DK/NA - - 3 - 2 1 1 1 1 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Very satisfied 4% 3% 3% 2% 2% Smwht satisfied 23 26 14 17 16 Smwht dissatisfied 28 32 25 30 32 Very dissatisfied 44 39 57 51 50 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in the nation today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? VERY+SMWHT SAT High Low Nov 17 Sep 09 Jul 21 May 26 Apr 21 Dec 11 Nov 13 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2001 2008 Very satisfied 3 2 3 3 3 21 2 Smwht satisfied 24 23 24 26 28 47 14 Smwht dissatisfied 29 31 29 31 29 19 38 Very dissatisfied 42 42 42 39 40 10 44 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 - 3 2 22. In the long run, do you think Barack Obama's policies will help the country or hurt the country? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Help 44% 5% 82% 37% 39% 48% 36% 85% 61% Hurt 48 91 11 51 52 44 56 6 27 NO DIFFERENCE(VOL) 1 - 2 1 1 2 1 - 4 DK/NA 8 4 5 11 8 7 7 9 8 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Help 57% 41% 39% 49% 45% 37% 82% 54% 14% Hurt 34 51 51 39 51 57 12 32 80 NO DIFFERENCE(VOL) 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 3 0 DK/NA 8 7 9 10 4 5 4 11 6 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Help 41% 51% 20% 26% 33% Hurt 49 43 74 67 57 NO DIFFERENCE(VOL) 1 2 1 1 2 DK/NA 8 5 6 6 8 23. Are you pleased or disappointed that the Republicans have taken over control of the House of Representatives from the Democrats? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Pleased 51% 95% 13% 56% 59% 45% 59% 14% 31% Disappointed 37 2 77 27 30 44 31 73 55 DK/NA 11 3 11 16 12 11 10 13 14 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Pleased 40% 57% 52% 43% 57% 63% 17% 41% 79% Disappointed 47 32 37 45 35 30 71 44 15 DK/NA 12 11 11 13 9 7 12 15 6 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Pleased 52% 50% 74% 70% 58% Disappointed 36 40 20 22 31 DK/NA 12 10 5 8 11 24. Do you think President Obama should change his course because of this year's election results or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Yes 59% 84% 35% 63% 60% 57% 64% 32% 47% No 36 12 59 32 34 37 31 64 46 DK/NA 6 4 6 5 6 5 6 4 7 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Yes 43% 64% 63% 55% 59% 65% 30% 55% 77% No 54 31 29 39 36 32 67 39 18 DK/NA 3 5 8 6 5 4 3 6 5 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Yes 59% 56% 76% 71% 68% No 35 39 18 22 28 DK/NA 6 5 6 7 4 25. Do you think President Obama will change his course because of this year's election results or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Yes 41% 21% 57% 43% 42% 40% 39% 51% 57% No 49 74 28 48 50 47 53 28 34 DK/NA 11 5 15 9 8 13 9 21 9 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Yes 46% 39% 38% 40% 43% 42% 57% 51% 24% No 44 51 49 47 48 51 34 39 66 DK/NA 10 9 12 12 9 7 10 10 10 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Yes 38% 47% 30% 30% 40% No 51 43 63 61 54 DK/NA 11 10 7 9 6 26. President Obama and Democratic and Republican congressional leaders are to meet at the White House next week. Do you think there is a good chance they can come to an agreement on major issues or do you think they are too far apart and meaningful compromise on major matters is unlikely? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Agreement 22% 16% 25% 22% 19% 24% 20% 35% 19% Too far apart 73 78 70 73 76 71 75 57 77 DK/NA 5 6 5 5 5 6 5 8 3 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Agreement 23% 23% 19% 26% 18% 21% 18% 28% 17% Too far apart 73 73 73 69 77 76 78 68 78 DK/NA 4 4 8 6 4 3 4 4 5 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Agreement 24% 16% 18% 18% 27% Too far apart 71 79 77 78 69 DK/NA 5 5 5 4 5 27. Do you think President Obama should compromise on his positions on major issues in order to come to an agreement with Republican congressional leaders or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Yes 72% 89% 56% 75% 75% 68% 74% 57% 64% No 22 8 37 19 20 24 21 32 30 DK/NA 6 3 7 6 5 7 5 11 7 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Yes 66% 76% 70% 71% 73% 74% 49% 69% 86% No 29 19 22 23 22 23 44 25 9 DK/NA 5 5 8 7 5 3 8 6 4 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Yes 73% 70% 78% 81% 77% No 21 25 16 14 17 DK/NA 6 5 6 5 6 28. Do you think Republican congressional leaders should compromise on their positions on major issues in order to come to an agreement with President Obama or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Yes 63% 32% 88% 65% 61% 64% 59% 85% 75% No 32 64 8 28 34 30 36 7 20 DK/NA 5 4 4 7 5 6 5 8 5 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Yes 74% 62% 57% 67% 63% 58% 89% 76% 38% No 23 33 36 27 33 39 8 18 57 DK/NA 3 5 7 6 4 2 3 5 5 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Yes 62% 65% 45% 50% 58% No 32 31 51 45 36 DK/NA 6 4 4 5 5 29. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling the economy? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 39% 7% 72% 33% 35% 42% 32% 78% 58% Disapprove 57 92 24 62 61 53 64 16 36 DK/NA 4 2 4 5 4 5 4 6 6 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 51% 36% 35% 44% 39% 33% 74% 47% 13% Disapprove 47 60 59 51 58 65 22 47 84 DK/NA 2 3 6 4 4 2 3 6 2 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Approve 37% 45% 17% 22% 29% Disapprove 59 51 81 75 67 DK/NA 4 4 2 3 5 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling the economy? (Low also 39% Jul 2010, Sep 2010) APPROVE...... High Low Nov 17 Sep 09 Jul 21 May 26 Apr 21 Mar 4 Nov 17 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 Approve 39 39 39 44 40 57 39 Disapprove 57 56 56 50 55 33 57 DK/NA 4 5 5 6 5 10 4 33. Is your opinion of the the Tea Party Movement favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about it? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Favorable 34% 65% 7% 35% 41% 28% 39% 10% 24% Unfavorable 38 11 63 37 38 38 35 57 45 Hvn't hrd enough 26 22 28 26 20 32 25 32 30 REFUSED 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 TREND: Is your opinion of the Tea Party movement favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about it? Nov 17 Sep 09 Jul 21 Apr 21 Mar 24 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 Favorable 34 30 33 32 28 Unfavorable 38 31 31 31 23 Hvn't hrd enough 26 37 35 34 49 REFUSED 1 2 1 2 1 33a. Is your opinion of - George W. Bush favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Favorable 41% 84% 10% 37% 44% 38% 47% 11% 28% Unfavorable 54 13 86 58 53 55 49 80 69 Hvn't hrd enough 2 1 2 2 1 3 2 3 3 REFUSED 3 1 2 3 2 3 2 6 1 TREND: Is your opinion of - George W. Bush favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Nov 17 Mar 25 2010 2010 Favorable 41 38 Unfavorable 54 56 Hvn't hrd enough 2 4 REFUSED 3 3 34. Is your opinion of - John Boehner favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Favorable 20% 39% 5% 18% 25% 15% 23% 4% 18% Unfavorable 19 5 34 15 19 19 17 27 21 Hvn't hrd enough 61 55 60 65 55 66 59 69 60 REFUSED 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 - - 35. Is your opinion of - Mitch McConnell favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Favorable 14% 28% 5% 12% 19% 10% 16% 2% 12% Unfavorable 20 7 32 18 21 19 18 31 26 Hvn't hrd enough 65 63 63 69 59 71 65 66 62 REFUSED 1 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 - 36. Is your opinion of - Nancy Pelosi favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about her? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Favorable 25% 5% 48% 19% 21% 28% 22% 40% 35% Unfavorable 55 86 25 62 63 49 63 18 43 Hvn't hrd enough 18 9 25 18 15 21 14 39 22 REFUSED 1 - 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 TREND: Is your opinion of Nancy Pelosi favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about her? Nov 17 Mar 25 Nov 12 Oct 31 May 25 Feb 21 2010 2010 2008 2007 2007 2007 Favorable 25 25 26 22 29 25 Unfavorable 55 51 41 35 29 31 Hvn't hrd enough 18 23 31 41 40 43 REFUSED 1 1 2 2 2 1 37. Is your opinion of - Harry Reid favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Favorable 17% 5% 33% 14% 18% 17% 17% 25% 17% Unfavorable 39 65 15 41 48 30 43 18 32 Hvn't hrd enough 42 30 51 44 33 51 39 57 50 REFUSED 1 - 1 2 1 1 1 1 - TREND: Is your opinion of Harry Reid favorable, unfavorable, or haven't you heard enough about him? Nov 17 Mar 25 Nov 12 Oct 31 May 25 Feb 21 2010 2010 2008 2007 2007 2007 Favorable 17 9 12 9 9 7 Unfavorable 39 38 21 22 18 17 Hvn't hrd enough 42 51 63 68 71 75 REFUSED 1 1 3 2 2 1 39. Would you describe the state of the nation's economy these days as excellent, good, not so good, or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Excellent - - - - - - - 1% 1% Good 7 2 12 6 8 6 6 16 7 Not so good 43 34 57 37 40 45 41 55 53 Poor 49 63 31 56 50 48 52 27 38 DK/NA 1 - - 1 1 - - 1 1 TREND: Would you describe the state of the nation's economy these days as excellent, good, not so good, or poor? EXLNT+GOOD.... High Low Nov 17 Sep 09 Jul 22 May 26 Dec 22 Dec 10 Mar 4 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2003 2009 Excellent - - 1 - - 3 - Good 7 9 9 12 7 37 3 Not so good 43 41 43 46 46 42 28 Poor 49 49 47 40 45 16 68 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 1 - 40. Do you think the nation's economy is getting better, getting worse, or staying about the same? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Better 28% 12% 44% 26% 30% 26% 25% 42% 33% Worse 28 40 14 31 28 27 30 15 18 The same 43 47 41 42 41 46 44 40 48 DK/NA 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 3 - TREND: Do you think the nation's economy is getting better, getting worse, or staying about the same? Nov 17 Sep 09 Jul 22 May 26 Dec 22 Aug 6 July 2 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2009 2009 Better 28 22 23 32 28 28 27 Worse 28 32 31 24 28 29 29 The same 43 45 44 43 43 41 42 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 41. Who do you trust to do a better job handling the economy, President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Obama 42% 2% 81% 34% 37% 46% 34% 82% 61% Republicans 45 91 9 45 51 39 53 6 28 DK/NA 14 8 11 21 12 15 13 12 12 TREND: Who do you trust to do a better job handling the economy - President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Nov 17 Jul 22 May 26 Dec 22 Aug 6 July 2 Apr 1 2010 2010 2010 2009 2009 2009 2009 President Obama 42 41 45 45 47 54 55 Reps in Congress 45 42 36 36 36 32 27 DK/NA 14 17 19 19 17 14 18 42. So far, has the economic stimulus package helped the economy, hurt the economy, or made no difference? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Helped 33% 8% 57% 30% 31% 35% 29% 60% 47% Hurt 26 47 5 30 30 22 30 6 14 No difference 37 43 33 37 36 38 38 28 38 DK/NA 4 2 5 3 3 4 3 6 1 43. Which should be the highest priority for the next Congress; cutting taxes, reducing the budget deficit, or spending to create jobs? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Taxes 17% 28% 9% 17% 19% 15% 19% 10% 15% Deficit 32 45 20 36 37 27 35 17 22 Jobs 45 23 65 42 38 51 40 64 59 DK/NA 6 4 6 5 6 6 6 8 4 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Taxes 16% 19% 15% 15% 18% 19% 6% 11% 28% Deficit 24 35 33 25 36 43 18 32 41 Jobs 56 41 44 53 42 35 71 52 27 DK/NA 4 5 8 6 4 3 6 5 4 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Taxes 17% 18% 23% 22% 24% Deficit 30 37 39 39 33 Jobs 47 40 32 33 40 DK/NA 6 5 6 6 4 44. How should Congress vote on the Bush-era tax cuts; continue them for all, continue them only for families who earn less than $250,000 a year, or let them expire for all? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Continue for all 35% 65% 10% 33% 42% 29% 38% 17% 28% Continue for <$250k 43 24 59 44 38 47 43 40 41 Expire for all 14 5 21 16 15 13 12 28 27 DK/NA 8 6 10 7 4 11 7 15 4 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Continue for all 30% 36% 36% 30% 37% 46% 11% 21% 60% Continue for <$250k 44 43 42 45 46 35 60 53 26 Expire for all 19 14 11 16 13 15 25 18 6 DK/NA 6 6 11 10 4 3 5 8 8 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Continue for all 34% 38% 51% 46% 39% Continue for <$250k 43 43 36 38 42 Expire for all 14 15 6 10 10 DK/NA 9 5 7 7 9 45. How about if this was the choice on tax cuts; continue them for all, continue them only for families who earn less than $500,000 a year, or let them expire for all? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Continue for all 33% 62% 11% 29% 39% 28% 36% 16% 25% Continue for <$500k 40 24 53 43 36 44 40 44 42 Expire for all 18 8 27 19 19 18 17 29 24 DK/NA 8 6 9 9 6 11 7 11 9 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Continue for all 29% 35% 33% 28% 36% 42% 9% 21% 56% Continue for <$500k 42 40 40 42 41 38 51 50 27 Expire for all 24 19 15 22 17 16 33 20 10 DK/NA 5 7 12 9 7 4 7 9 7 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Continue for all 32% 35% 46% 44% 38% Continue for <$500k 40 40 36 37 39 Expire for all 18 18 11 13 15 DK/NA 9 6 7 7 8 46. Who do you trust to do a better job handling health care, President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Obama 44% 3% 82% 39% 41% 47% 37% 88% 58% Republicans 45 89 10 46 48 43 53 6 37 DK/NA 10 7 7 15 11 10 10 6 5 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Obama 58% 40% 41% 51% 42% 38% 82% 54% 16% Republicans 37 48 47 39 47 53 13 34 73 DK/NA 5 11 13 11 10 9 6 12 11 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Obama 42% 51% 21% 24% 32% Republicans 47 40 71 65 56 DK/NA 11 8 8 11 12 TREND: Who do you trust to do a better job handling health care - President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? (*Low also 42% Jan 2010 & Mar 2010)) PostVt PreVt BETTER PRES... Poll Poll High Low Nov 17 Apr 21 Mar 25 Mar 25 Feb 11 Jul 1 Apr 21 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 President Obama 44 42 45 42 44 53 42 Reps in Congress 45 39 35 42 38 33 39 DK/NA 10 19 20 16 17 14 19
