Nearly half of U.S. voters (49%) oppose President Bush’s decision to extend $17.4 billion in emergency taxpayer-backed loans to the failing U.S. auto industry, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Thirty-eight percent (38%) are in favor of the president’s decision, which he announced Friday, while 13% are undecided. The day before, Bush acknowledged that he has been forced to turn his back on many of the free-market principles he believes in because of the severity of the country’s economic situation.

Two weeks ago, 53% of voters opposed government loans to help the automakers stay in business. Congress failed to reach an agreement on a loan package, due to Republican opposition.

Forty-four percent (44%) of voters believe it is likely the loans eventually will be repaid by General Motors and Chrysler, including 15% who say repayment is Very Likely. Ford is not seeking government help at this time. Fifty-one percent (51%) doubt the loans will be repaid, including 13% who say taxpayers are not at all likely to get their money back.

Voters are more evenly divided than before on the impact of a GM bankruptcy on the U.S. economy. Forty percent (40%) say it is better for the economy to let companies like General Motors fail than for the federal government to provide subsidies to keep them in business, but 38% say the subsidies are a better move. Twenty-two percent (22%) are unsure which is better for the economy.

In a survey a month ago, 48% said it is better for the economy to let companies like GM fail, while 35% believed it’s better to subsidize their continued existence.

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Fifty-one percent (51%) of male voters now oppose the loans, as do 46% of female voters. Voters with children in their home are far more likely to oppose the loans than those without children living with them.

The partisan divide is a wide one. Sixty-one percent (61%) of Republicans are against the GOP president’s decision, while 29% support it and 10% are undecided. Among Democrats, a solid plurality (48%) favor the loans; 37% oppose them, and 15% are unsure. Fifty-one percent (51%) of unaffiliated voters are opposed, with 35% in favor and 14% undecided.

Evangelical Christians are against the loans by 18 points, while other Protestants are almost evenly divided on the issue. Catholic voters oppose the loan decision by a 45% to 39% margin.

Men are more confident than women by 10 points that the loans will be repaid. But 17% of male voters also say repayment is not at all likely, compared to nine percent (9%) of female voters.

While the markets rallied behind the auto companies on Friday after the president’s announcement, investor confidence as measured by the Rasmussen Investor Index is up only slightly on Monday after hitting a record low last week.

Forty-five percent (45%) of men say it is better to let the companies fail, compared to 35% of women. Forty percent (40%) of female voters say the subsidies are better for the economy, but only 36% of men agree.

Voters ages 30-64 are much more supportive of letting the companies go bankrupt than younger and older voters.

While white voters are evenly divided on the question, 48% of African-Americans favor the subsidy route, while 23% believe letting the companies fail makes better economic sense.

A majority of Republicans (52%) say letting the companies fail is better for the economy, while 49% of Democrats say subsidizing them is better. Unaffiliated voters by 12 points support the bankruptcy option.

Bush’s plan provides $13.4 billion in loans to GM and Chrysler by mid-January, drawing the money from the $700-billion package approved by Congress in October to help the beleaguered financial industry. GM is eligible for an additional $4 billion in loans in February. By March 31, the two automakers have to come up with long-term plans for profitability, which include concessions from creditors, dealers, suppliers and, perhaps most significantly, unions.

President Obama will then determine how successful the companies have been in salvaging their futures and whether they are eligible for any further government help. He is expected to face strong pressure from unions, a key part of the Democratic Party’s base, not to force major concessions from the United Auto Workers. The president of the UAW is already complaining that Bush is being too tough on them.

GM and Chrysler say they face imminent bankruptcy without the government cash. In exchange for the loans, the government gets nonvoting stock in the two companies.

Forty-two percent (42%) of voters say it is at least somewhat likely that the automakers will be able to gain significant concessions from the UAW before March 31, with just 10% saying it is Very Likely. Seventeen percent (17%) say union concessions are not at all likely.

Republicans are especially dubious about concessions from the unions with a Democrat in the White House and larger Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate. While 53% of Democrats say union concessions are likely, only 33% of GOP voters agree. One-quarter of Republicans (24%) say UAW concessions are not at all likely versus nine percent (9%) of Democrats. Thirty-seven percent (37%) of unaffiliated voters believe concessions are likely, while 18% do not.

Twenty-one percent (21%) of Catholic voters and 19% of Evangelical Christians say union concessions are not at all likely, although just 16% of other Protestants agree.

Forty-seven percent (47%) of voters say it is likely the auto companies will make the necessary changes by March 31 to insure their financial viability, including 14% who say it is Very Likely. Thirteen percent (13%), however, say those changes are not at all likely to be made.

Fifty-six percent (56%) of Democrats believe it likely that the companies will make the necessary changes, including 19% who say Very Likely. Forty-one percent (41%) of both Republicans and unaffiliated voters share this confidence, with 11% of both groups rating it Very Likely to happen.

Seventeen percent (17%) of Republicans, 16% of unaffiliateds and seven percent (7%) of Democrats say it is not at all likely that the auto companies will make the needed changes by the end of March.

Forty-four percent (44%) of whites think the necessary business changes are likely to happen, compared to 64% of blacks. African-Americans are twice as likely as whites to think the changes are Very Likely to occur. By contrast, 14% of whites say they are not at all likely, but just four percent (4%) of blacks agree.

In a survey two weeks ago, 53% of Americans said it is Very Likely that the automakers will be back for more government money next year.

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