Only 12% of U.S. voters say Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has done a good or excellent job handling the country’s credit crisis and the bailout programs aimed at helping the economy.

Forty–two percent (42%) rate Paulson’s performance as poor, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Eight percent (8%) are undecided.

Even though Paulson was appointed by President Bush, Republicans are more critical of the Treasury secretary than Democrats and unaffiliated voters. Twelve percent (12%) of GOP voters say Paulson has done a good or excellent job, and 14% of Democrats and 11% of unaffiliateds agree.

But 46% of Republicans say Paulson’s job performance has been poor, compared to 39% of Democrats and 41% of unaffiliated voters.

Investors and non-investors are in general agreement on Paulson’s performance. African-American voters view Paulson’s handling of the economy more favorably than whites.

Twenty-seven percent (27%) of voters have at least a favorable opinion of Paulson, with just four percent (4%) Very favorable. Forty-three percent (43%) view him unfavorably, including 16% who rate their opinion as Very unfavorable. Thirty percent (30%) are undecided.

In late September after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and talk of an taxpayer-backed economic rescue plan took center stage, 38% had a favorable view of Paulson, with 41% unfavorable. Just 21% were undecided about the Treasury secretary at that time.

Twenty-eight percent (28%) of investors view Paulson favorably, compared to 25% of non-investors. Forty-six percent (46%) of investors have an unfavorable view of the Treasury secretary versus 40% of non-investors.

Paulson is seen favorably by 32% of male voters and 22% of female voters. Forty-nine percent (49%) of men have an unfavorable view of him, compared to 37% of women.

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The Rasmussen Consumer and Investor indexes, both of which measure confidence in the economy, climbed modestly today but still hover around record lows.

In a survey in mid-November, just 26% of U.S. adults were at least somewhat confident that U.S. policymakers know what they are doing when it comes to addressing the nation’s current economic problems.

Just prior to those findings, Paulson had reversed course on what the $700-billion economic rescue plan approved by Congress in early October should be spent on. Paulson sold the plan to Congress and the public as a way to buy up bad assets from banks to free up credit. Several weeks later he said that wasn’t working and that the government should use the money instead to buy partial stakes in troubled banks and to directly fund loans and additional credit for consumers.

Results released earlier today find that 50% of voters think the recent wave of bank failures was triggered by laws that weren’t strict enough as opposed to bankers breaking the law.

President-elect Obama has chosen Timothy Geithner, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, to be his secretary of the Treasury, but right now 53% of voters don’t know enough about him to have an opinion about him one way or the other.

Forty-seven percent (47%) of Republicans have an unfavorable view of Paulson, compared to 36% of Democrats and 48% of unaffiliated voters. Thirty-one percent (31%) of Democrats have a favorable view of Paulson, but only 24% of GOP voters and 25% of unaffiliateds agree.

Political liberals have a slightly higher opinion of Paulson than conservatives.

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