A majority of voters (52%) favor John McCain’s plan for the federal government to buy up distressed mortgages and refinance them so homeowners can stay in their homes, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Thirty-five percent (35%) oppose the plan.

Democrats like McCain’s plan more than Republicans, even though Barack Obama opposes it. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Democratic voters think it’s a good idea, compared to 47% of Republicans – and 49% of unaffiliated voters.

Seventy percent (70%) of African-American voters favor McCain’s plan, as do 50% of white voters.

Not surprisingly, support for McCain’s plan is highest among those in lower income groups.

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While a majority agree with the specifics of McCain’s proposal, a sizable percentage of voters oppose the overall concept of the federal government getting directly involved in the troubled U.S. housing market and helping homeowners who borrowed more than they can afford.

The conflicting findings reflect the confusion many Americans feel about the complicated financial issues now facing the country and the mixed feelings many have about the solutions being proposed.

McCain says his plan, first proposed at Tuesday night’s presidential debate, will cost up to $300 billion, with the money coming out of the recently adopted $700-billion economic rescue plan. Obama says McCain’s plan is bad for taxpayers and benefits irresponsible financial institutions.

Nationally, Obama has opened a fairly stable lead in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and in the Electoral College. In most states, voters trust Obama more than McCain on handling the economy.

In the latest national survey, 48% trust Obama more than McCain to manage the taxpayer-backed economic rescue plan, although 43% trust McCain more. Men trust the Republican more 48% to 44%, but women give the edge to the Democrat 51% to 40%.

While 82% of Republicans and 83% of Democrats trust their respective candidates more, unaffiliated voters are evenly divided on which man would handle the economy best.

Consumer and investor confidence today slipped yet again to establish the lowest levels ever recorded in the seven-year history of the Rasmussen Index.
Seventy-two percent (72%) of voters still say the United States is the best nation in the world, despite the country’s economic woes, but over 60% of Americans now rate the U.S. economy as poor.

Like the anger over the economic rescue plan Congress and the Bush Administration hammered out recently, a majority of voters clearly are anxious about the federal government’s growing involvement in the economy. In surveys throughout the bailout negotiations, a majority expressed concern that the government would do too much in response to the economic problems.

Seventy-one percent (71%) of voters now say if homeowners cannot afford to make increased mortgage payments, it is better for them to sell their homes than for the government to assist them in making their payments. Just 21% think the government should step in to help them pay their mortgages.

Fifty-four percent (54%) say the federal government should not get directly involved in the housing market, although 31% think it should.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) say the federal government should not help out homeowners who borrowed more than they could afford, and only 25% disagree.

Republicans and unaffiliated voters, in most instances by hefty majorities, are more opposed to government involvement in the housing market than Democrats.

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