A new poll Tuesday found Americans are increasingly frustrated with both US President Barack Obama and his Republican rivals over the stalled US economic recovery.
The Washington Post/ABC News poll, released just days ahead of Obama’s planned major address on job creation, found that 53 percent disapprove of his job performance and 77 percent think the country is on the “wrong track.”
The poll found 35 percent of Americans believe they have become worse off financially under Obama’s presidency, the highest since the 1980s.
The poll found that 34 percent of Americans believe his efforts have done more harm than good for the economy, compared to 17 percent who believe the opposite, reflecting the main line of attack of Republicans hoping to take back the White House in next year’s elections.
However, the poll also found anger at Republicans, with 68 percent of those surveyed disapproving of the job performance of Republican lawmakers, 15 points higher than Obama’s disapproval rating.
And on whom Americans trust to handle the economy, job creation and the federal deficit, Obama and the Republicans poll about evenly, at around 40 percent for all three.
Obama was to deliver a major address on Thursday before a joint session of Congress to announce a new plan to get the economy back on track and try to chip away at the country’s stubborn nine percent unemployment.
In a rare bright spot for the president, 62 percent of Americans approve of his battle against terrorism, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and four months after the killing of Osama bin Laden.
The poll was conducted by telephone August 29 to September 1 among a random sampling of 1,001 adults, and had a margin of error of 3.5 points.
