Ouch! Barack Has Work To Do

From the Q Poll:

October 6, 2011 – Obama And Economy Are In The Dumps, U.S. Voters Tell Quinnipiac University National Poll; End Saturday Mail To Cut Costs, Voters Say 4-1

American voters disapprove 55 – 41 percent of the job President Barack Obama is doing, an all-time low, and say 77 – 20 percent that the economy is in a recession, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Voters say 44 – 11 percent that the economy is getting worse, not better, while only 29 percent say the economy will improve if the president is re-elected.

Voters also disapprove 48 – 34 percent of the way Obama is handling the Israeli- Palestinian dispute. The president should be a strong supporter of Israel, voters say 63 – 20 percent, but they split 39 – 40 percent on whether Obama is a strong supporter, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University survey finds.

The Israelis and the Palestinians are equally to blame for the failure to achieve Middle East peace, 64 percent of American voters say, while 22 percent blame the Palestinians and 6 percent blame the Israelis.

“The trend isn’t good for President Barack Obama. His disapproval has gone up 9 points since the summer, from 46 percent in July to 52 percent in September to 55 percent today,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

“Especially troubling for the president is that voters say 49 – 39 percent that Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney would do a better job on the economy. GOP contender Rick Perry would do only slightly better, voters say, and Republicans in Congress would not be much better.

“The president is stuck at a politically unhealthy level for someone who wants to be re- elected. His standing with the American people is obviously closely related to their views of the economy.”

The president’s job approval among Democrats, 77 – 18 percent, is lower than his disapproval among Republicans, 91 – 7 percent. Independent voters disapprove 56 – 38 percent.

Men disapprove 60 – 36 percent and women disapprove 51 – 46 percent. Black voters approve 81 – 15 percent, but disapproval is 62 – 34 percent among white voters and 50 – 45 percent among Hispanic voters.

Voters continue, however, to blame former President George W. Bush more than Obama for the economy, 51 – 32 percent, statistically unchanged from 53 – 32 percent in September.

“The political challenge for the president will be whether he can make voters believe his eventual GOP opponent is a carbon copy of the former president,” said Brown. “The fact that voters are unsure whether the economy will improve if he is re-elected is not a good sign for Obama.”

American sympathies on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remain strongly with the Jewish state, at 51 – 15 percent. Voters support the creation of a Palestinian state 44 – 35 percent, compared to 45 – 30 percent in June.

“Americans remain in Israel’s corner in the dispute with the Palestinians, but they think both sides have contributed to the problem,” said Brown.

U.S. Postal Service

To help solve the Postal Service’s financial problems, voters support 79 – 20 percent ending Saturday mail deliveries. Attitudes on other possible steps are:

• 53 – 45 percent in favor of closing local branches, including their own local branch;

• 57 – 38 percent opposed to providing additional federal funding;

• 60 – 38 percent support raising stamp prices.

Voters say 60 – 32 percent that it is unfair to call Social Security a “Ponzi scheme,” and by 50 – 32 percent they have a favorable opinion of the retirement system.

Social Security should continue to be run by the federal government, not the states, voters say 63 – 26 percent. Voters support 56 – 35 percent raising the income cap for Social Security taxes from its current $106,800 level.

From September 27 – October 3, Quinnipiac University surveyed 2,118 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.1 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter.