54% Blame Bush Recession For Current Economic Problems, 39% Blame Obama
A majority of voters continues to blame the nation’s economic problems on the George W. Bush years but still trust their own economic judgment more than President Obama’s.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 54% of Likely Voters say the nation’s current economic problems are due to the recession that began under the Bush administration. Thirty-nine percent (39%) blame the policies of President Obama. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
In surveys since May 2009, 47% to 62% of voters have blamed the nation's economic woes on the recession that began under Bush. In those same surveys, 27% to 48% have blamed the policies of the current president.
A strong majority (58%) trust their own judgment more than the president’s when it comes to economic issues affecting the nation. That finding has remained in the high 50s-to-low 60s since June 2009. Thirty percent (30%) place their trust in Obama to handle these issues, while 12% more are not sure.
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The national survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on May 15-16, 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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