Some interesting takes from Rasmussen and Shoen.
The polarization data doesn’t seem so much a surprise but what is, is that it appears folks know its not just one sided.

That the public appears to hold the republicans accountable for the mess, is not surprising as no one in the media will expose any democratic culpability, which of course is no surprise either, since the media had stopped doing their jobs long ago.


Also the data on the spending are interesting as well. 60% feel the stimulus will only make a marginal difference and 3-1 think we spent to much.

Oh and this could be ominous for the 2010 cycle....

just 19% of voters believe that Congress has passed any significant legislation to improve their lives. While Congress's approval has increased, it still stands at only 18%. Over two-thirds of voters believe members of Congress are more interested in helping their own careers than in helping the American people.


Obama's Poll Numbers Are Falling to Earth

By DOUGLAS E. SCHOEN and SCOTT RASMUSSEN
It is simply wrong for commentators to continue to focus on President Barack Obama's high levels of popularity, and to conclude that these are indicative of high levels of public confidence in the work of his administration. Indeed, a detailed look at recent survey data shows that the opposite is most likely true. The American people are coming to express increasingly significant doubts about his initiatives, and most likely support a different agenda and different policies from those that the Obama administration has advanced.

Polling data show that Mr. Obama's approval rating is dropping and is below where George W. Bush was in an analogous period in 2001. Rasmussen Reports data shows that Mr. Obama's net presidential approval rating -- which is calculated by subtracting the number who strongly disapprove from the number who strongly approve -- is just six, his lowest rating to date.

Overall, Rasmussen Reports shows a 56%-43% approval, with a third strongly disapproving of the president's performance. This is a substantial degree of polarization so early in the administration. Mr. Obama has lost virtually all of his Republican support and a good part of his Independent support, and the trend is decidedly negative.

A detailed examination of presidential popularity after 50 days on the job similarly demonstrates a substantial drop in presidential approval relative to other elected presidents in the 20th and 21st centuries. The reason for this decline most likely has to do with doubts about the administration's policies and their impact on peoples' lives.

There is also a clear sense in the polling that taxes will increase for all Americans because of the stimulus, notwithstanding what the president has said about taxes going down for 95% of Americans. Close to three-quarters expect that government spending will grow under this administration.

Recent Gallup data echo these concerns. That polling shows that there are deep-seeded, underlying economic concerns. Eighty-three percent say they are worried that the steps Mr. Obama is taking to fix the economy may not work and the economy will get worse. Eighty-two percent say they are worried about the amount of money being added to the deficit. Seventy-eight percent are worried about inflation growing, and 69% say they are worried about the increasing role of the government in the U.S. economy.

When Gallup asked whether we should be spending more or less in the economic stimulus, by close to 3-to-1 margin voters said it is better to have spent less than to have spent more. When asked whether we are adding too much to the deficit or spending too little to improve the economy, by close to a 3-to-2 margin voters said that we are adding too much to the deficit.

Support for the stimulus package is dropping from narrow majority support to below that. There is no sense that the stimulus package itself will work quickly, and according to a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, close to 60% said it would make only a marginal difference in the next two to four years. Rasmussen data shows that people now actually oppose Mr. Obama's budget, 46% to 41%. Three-quarters take this position because it will lead to too much spending. And by 2-to-1, voters reject House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's call for a second stimulus package.

While over two-thirds support the plan to help homeowners refinance their mortgage, a 48%-36% plurality said that it will unfairly benefit those who have been irresponsible, echoing Rick Santelli's call to arms on CNBC.

And although a narrow majority remains confident in Mr. Obama's goals and overall direction, 45% say they do not have confidence, a number that has been growing since the inauguration less than two months ago. With three-quarters saying that they expect the economy to get worse, it is hard to see these numbers improving substantially.

There is no real appetite for increasing taxes to pay for an expanded health-insurance program. Less than half would support such an idea, which is 17% less than the percentage that supported government health insurance when Bill Clinton first considered it in March of 1993.

While voters blame Republicans for the lack of bipartisanship in Washington, the fact is that they do not believe Mr. Obama has made any progress in improving the impulse towards cooperation between the two parties. Further, nearly half of voters say that politics in Washington will be more partisan over the next year.

Fifty-six percent of Americans oppose giving bankers any additional government money or any guarantees backed by the government. Two-thirds say Wall Street will benefit more than the average taxpayer from the new bank bailout plan. This represents a jump in opposition to the first plan passed last October. At that time, 45% opposed the bailout and 30% supported it. Now a solid majority opposes the bank bailout, and 20% think it was a good idea. A majority believes that Mr. Obama will not be able to cut the deficit in half by the end of his term.

Only less than a quarter of Americans believe that the federal government truly reflects the will of the people. Almost half disagree with the idea that no one can earn a living or live "an American life" without protection and empowerment by the government, while only one-third agree.

Despite the economic stimulus that Congress just passed and the budget and financial and mortgage bailouts that Congress is now debating, just 19% of voters believe that Congress has passed any significant legislation to improve their lives. While Congress's approval has increased, it still stands at only 18%. Over two-thirds of voters believe members of Congress are more interested in helping their own careers than in helping the American people. When it comes to the nation's economic issues, two-thirds of voters have more confidence in their own judgment than they do in the average member of Congress.

Finally, what probably accounts for a good measure of the confidence and support the Obama administration has enjoyed is the fact that they are not Republicans. Virtually all Americans, more than eight in 10, blame Republicans for the current economic woes, and the only two leaders with lower approval ratings than Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and John Boehner.

All of this is not just a subject for pollsters and analysts to debate. It shows fundamentally that public confidence in government remains low and is slipping. We face the possibility of substantial gridlock along with an absolute absence of public confidence that could come to mirror the lack of confidence in the American economy that the Dow and the S&P are currently showing.

Mr. Schoen, formerly a pollster for President Bill Clinton, is the author of "Declaring Independence: The Beginning of the End of the Two Party System" (Random House, 2008). Mr. Rasmussen is president of Rasmussen Reports, an independent national polling company.

Obama's Poll Numbers Are Falling to Earth - WSJ.com

__________________

"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

buyer's remorse is settling in as predicted

__________________
Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

Jesus loves you, allah wants you dead

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."

Ayn Rand

As anyone would expect the stratospheric numbers he had early would drop. That is not indicative of performance, but a natural settling of numbers.
However, here in the last few weeks - his numbers in all main polls show not only a sharp drop in support - but a surprisingly high gain in those that "strongly disagree" - this is now a third of all people.
A full 83% are worried his actions concerning the economy are wrong, and will actually slow recovery if not make it worse.
So - only 17% of those polled support his economic plan - perhaps the lowest rating of any plan by any President.

Obama's Poll Numbers Are Falling to Earth - WSJ.com

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The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity; where everything is made simple, and in that simplification the truth is lost.

>but a surprisingly high gain in those that "strongly disagree" - this is now a third of all people.<

About a third of the people are hard core Repub fascists anyway. No surprise here.

Obama's poll numbers long term will be tied almost exclusively to the economy. He will either get excessive credit or excessive blame depending on whether we see a recovery or depression in the next couple years.

Expectations are the line of demarcation.

I'd say Obama's in pretty good shape because I'm seeing that expectations about the economy are actually quite low.

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The world could use more Stan Ovshinsky's

It is "pretty good shape" when only 17% of the people agree with his policies to fix the economy?? Really?
Man - that's some good spin.

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The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity; where everything is made simple, and in that simplification the truth is lost.

I'd imagine the average person polled is about as knowledgeable on economics as I am...as in, not very (at least, I try to convince myself of this so I feel like less of a retard). So, I really wouldn't put a lot of stock in whether 'the masses' feel like Obama's economic plan will sink or swim.

From what I gather, what's good for the individual in our current economic situation is not good for the country as a whole. For people that are hit hard by the downturn, it's best to tighten the belt, save more and spend less and be a lot more frugal with their money. However, if everyone did this (which more and more are) it would have a continued negative impact on our economy. Companies will lose business, which in turn leads to firings, which leads to more people spending less, which leads to more companies losing business and the downward cycle continues.

The federal government, however, isn't an individual. As such, the action they have to take in these times is much different than what the individual should do. The government, as I understand it, is making up for the individuals spending less by spending more itself. In the process it will create more revenue, leading to an increase in jobs, which leads to an increase in spending, which creates more revenue and the positive cycle continues.

This isn't obvious to the lay person such as myself who's practically economically illiterate. It's not too ridiculous to think "it's best for me to save my money during a rough economy, shouldn't the federal government be doing the same?" and to be quite alarmed when you see them take the exact opposite approach. I think this may have something to do with why most of the public is against the spending bill, they're under the understandable mindset that the best thing the government should do is the same thing the individual should do: save up, spend less and wait things out.

Just some random thoughts.

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“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” - Carl Sagan

Agreed, there are some basic instincts at work because few really understand the economy as to the nuts and bolts. So they respond on a level as ot how it relates to them.

But those instincts are sound as a microcosmic look from the average joes stand point as your own budgeting will tell you, if you spend more than you make sooner or later the piper must be paid. I don’t think any sensible person is against most of what Obama has done, but they blanche at excess and there is much excess and fundamentally again even from a mother or fathers point of view who do their bills every month, you have to stick with have to haves when times get hard, not nice to haves or inessentials.

If your car is acting up and you must have it to get to work, and say your kid needs braces, until you build up a surplus, you make the obvious choice.
I think we are seeing that sensiblity on display in the polls.

And we still have a few hurdles to go; the big 3, and the banks, who will, mark my words need more money despite what you are seeing now.

When Obama comes back for another 700 or 800 billion, theres going to be some serious shit flying in those polls numbers, the omni bus bill was I think, the limit of people patience for money being allocated on that scale.

__________________

"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

Well, due to the fact that it's nearly impossible to get any information on the economy that isn't heavily slanted by politics, I'm still on the fence about the whole thing. Both the anti and the pro people have some convincing arguments.

We also have to keep in mind the old saying "it takes money to make money". If I want to start a business from scratch and eventually want to turn a profit from it, it's going to take quite a bit of spending. I'll have to most likely borrow money so I can buy equipment, hire employees, do some advertising, and basically build up the company's infrastructure. We could use what you mentioned above and say "but some time you've gotta pay the piper" and that's very true, but hopefully by the time you pay the piper you'll be making some sort of return for your initial investment.

I don't know, all I can really say is "we'll see".

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“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” - Carl Sagan

True, yes, but unlike goggle, you are aren't going to feed your employees at co. expense in your start up either, that kind of philanthropy comes later...

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"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

Aye - but if you are starting that business and you are faced with HUUUGE business taxes - you have a less likely chance to survive no?
We spent $450,000,000,000 to free up the credit markets...and what did we get for that? We got nothing, they used the money to invest and buy up competitors - even $billions in foriegn countries.
Same here - this money does not lower business taxes (it increases them) and with wage restrictions, and numerous anti-business policies being discussed - there is no way this can work.
In fact Speak, you wanna improve this economy?
1) Stop payroll taxes right now, for at least 1 year - companies must use that money to hire additional staff - which many. many companies are running with skeleton crews that make it difficult to operate. This will employ waaaaay more people than this spendulus plan.
2) Eliminate all taxes on business investments that will increase employment. So far this year in our expansion we have paid $98,000 in taxes...ridiculious.

To stimulate the economy you must first stimulate businesses to create jobs, the fact that most Americans are afraid to lose their jobs - is why they are not spending money....give them security, and they will spend. Obama's plan does absolutely nothing to address consumer confidence in their jobs.
3)

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The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity; where everything is made simple, and in that simplification the truth is lost.

im not sure there is much excess , after all pork as usually defined is only 2% of the total budget spend.

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Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.

Guess who?

as the post this responded to was the stimulus (aka Porkulis) bill the 2% number is pointless as that thing only contained 7% stimulus, 93% pork.

__________________
Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

Jesus loves you, allah wants you dead

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."

Ayn Rand

Yup, anyone who doesn't like Obama is a Repub fascist. [sarcasm intended]

This is the only way to keep this guy in check.

His public policies are totally poll driven.

However I'm afraid that he will continue with his hidden agenda regardless of the polls.

But this is still promising. This is one of the checks and balances that the framers of the constitution counted on.......the same ones Obama is trying to circumvent.

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It's hard to stay mad at someone who makes you laugh - Jay Leno

93% ??

To what are you refering?

__________________
Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.

Guess who?