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POLITICS

Voters Continue to Blame Recession Under Bush For Poor Economy

Voters continue to blame the current economic problems on the recession which began under the Bush administration.  At the same time, the number who trust themselves more than President Obama to handle these issues has fallen to its lowest level in a little over a year. 

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 49% of Likely Voters say the nation’s current economic problems are due to the recession which began under the administration of George W. Bush.  Forty percent (40%) disagree and feel the policies of President Obama are more to blame.  Eleven percent (11%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

Economic blame on the recession under the Bush administration has ranged from a low of 47% to a high of 62%, reached in late May 2009.  At the same time, the number of voters who blame the current president has ranged from 27% to 48%. 

Still, 57% of voters trust their own judgment more when it comes to economic issues affecting the nation than Obama’s.  But that’s the lowest level measured since late November 2009.  Twenty-six percent (26%) trust the president more than themselves, while 17% are undecided.

Meanwhile, separate polling finds that the number of voters who give President Obama good or excellent marks for his handling of economic issues has fallen to a new low.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on March 18-19, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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