In the aftermath of the tumultuous debate over raising the debt ceiling, Americans give Washington a strong vote of no confidence, with barely a quarter saying the federal government can fix the nation’s economic problems and a large majority agreeing that the policymaking process is unstable and ineffective.
A new Washington Post poll underscores the damage caused to President Barack Obama and both political parties by the long standoff over the debt ceiling and the weakened economy. The results could have significant implications for both Republicans and Democrats, as record numbers of Americans now say they are interested in new congressional representation when they vote in November 2012.
With a double-dip recession now looming and the stock market buffeted by its steepest declines since the collapse in late 2008, the findings add another layer of pessimism to an already gloomy summer. Just as the market has plunged in recent days, so too has public faith in the nation’s leaders to deal with the problems.
Majority oppose deal
A majority of Americans said they oppose the recent debt-ceiling compromise, which calls for slicing about $2 trillion from the deficit over the next decade. The highest and strongest opposition comes from Republicans, but a majority of independents also oppose the deal. Democrats are evenly split on the matter.
But that judgment only hints at the dissatisfaction.
Nearly three-quarters of Americans say they have little or no confidence in Washington to repair the economy. Confidence is down 21 percentage points from October 2010 and is less than half its 2002 levels. Roughly four in 10 say they have no confidence at all in the federal government when it comes to dealing with the economy.
The number of people who expressed no confidence at all nearly doubled since October 2010 alone. Almost half of political independents now say “none” when asked about their confidence, more than double the proportion saying so last fall.
Nearly eight in 10 of all Americans say they are dissatisfied with the way the political system is working, up sharply from late 2009. The unhappiness is intense, with 45 percent saying they are very dissatisfied. That feeling is shared widely across party lines. Independents are the most disgruntled, with 51 percent calling themselves very dissatisfied with the system.
More than seven in 10 say Washington is focused on the “wrong things.” That, too, is sharply higher than it was just 10 months ago. Two-thirds of Republicans who see the government as focused on the wrong things say Obama and the Democrats are to blame, while nearly as many Democrats point the finger at the GOP. Among independents, a plurality — 43 percent — volunteer that both sides are at fault.
Half the country agrees with the assessment of the nation’s financial situation rendered by Standard & Poor’s, which downgraded the U.S. credit rating for the first time in history. The poll suggests that the decision by S&P had a powerful ripple effect through the U.S., with 80 percent saying they had heard about the downgrading.
S&P described the political system as one that has become “less stable, less effective and less predictable.” Asked about the S&P assessment, 71 percent of Americans called it a fair one. On the blame front, 36 percent say the GOP is culpable for the downgrade, 31 percent blame Obama and his fellow Democrats and 22 percent say it’s both sides equally.
Obama job rating down
The decline in confidence has potentially profound implications for the coming elections, although the anger appears directed evenly between the two parties.
Obama’s overall job ratings sit at 44 percent approval and 46 percent disapproval in the new poll, both numerically down from three weeks ago, when he was at 47 percent and 48 percent, respectively.
Despite growing disillusionment with the political situation, there was one bright spot in the poll: 77 percent of Americans agree with this statement: “Whatever its faults, the United States still has the best system of government in the world.” That number is unmoved from October 2010.
The Aug. 9 Washington Post phone poll of 601 adults has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
