National Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters

Conducted March 16-17, 2009

By Rasmussen Reports

1* During a speech to Congress last month, the President named four priorities for his Administration--cutting the federal deficit in half in the next four years, healthcare reform, development of new sources of energy and ensuring that every child has access to a complete and competitive education. Which of these priorities do you think is most important?

32% Cutting the deficit in half

29% Healthcare reform

18% Development of new sources of energy

12% Ensuring that every child has access to a complete and competitive education

9% Not sure

2* Which of these goals is the president most likely to achieve – cutting the deficit in half, health care reform, development of new sources of energy or ensuring that every child has access to "a complete and competitive education"?

15% Cutting the deficit in half

24% Healthcare reform

23% Development of new sources of energy

19% Ensuring that every child has access to a complete and competitive education

18% Not sure

3* Which of these goals is the president least likely to achieve – cutting the deficit, health care reform, development of new sources of energy or ensuring that every child has access to "a complete and competitive education"?

54% Cutting the deficit in half

17% Healthcare reform

13% Development of new sources of energy

9% Ensuring that every child has access to a complete and competitive education

7% Not sure

4* What is more important – to cut federal spending, balance the budget or cut taxes?

40% Cut federal spending

35% Balance the budget

18% Cut taxes

8% Not sure

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.