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POLITICS

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.

(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 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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