Steve Benen, Maddow Blog
Registered voters continue to place more blame on the Bush administration for the country's economic woes than President Obama, according to a new poll from CNN.
This election season, Republican pundits and politicians (Jeb Bush himself) have continously said Democrats and the Obama campaign should stop "blaming" the George W. Bush administration for the country's economic hardships, but year after year, the public continues to see things differently.
Although 44% of registered voters said they believe they are worse off financially today than they were four years ago, they overwhelmingly blamed Bush and Republicans for the country's economic challenges: 57% said Bush and Republicans are more to responsible for the lackluster economy compared to 35% who said the same of Obama and the Democrats, another 6% who said both parties and administrations shoulder the blame equally, and 2% that said neither.
These figures are on par with percentages found in previous CNN polls on this question.
The new poll also found that Americans continue to view the economy poorly: 68% of registered voters consider the country's economic situation poor, compared to 32% who said it was good. But, voters are optimistic that things will improve by next year: 67% said the economy will be somewhat or very good by next year, while 31% believe it will be poor or very poor next year.
The CNN/ORC International poll was conducted September 7-9.
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And rightfully so. The Republicans ran the USA Economy into the ditch and the damage it caused wasn't going to be repaired in a mere 4 years by ANYONE. Especially when the other Party's main goal IS to make sure you failed your 1st term as President. These Racist, Bigoted, MORONIC HYPOCRITES are a huge part of America's Political problems. You need a 3 or 5 Party System. Always an odd number to break most ties that your 2 Party System is causing right now. It's like President Bill "Slick-Willy" Clinton said during his speech at the Democratic Convention..."What new ideas did we bring to Washington? I always give a one-word answer: Arithmetic."
The Republicans hate it when the numbers add up against them. Arithmetic requires Logic and the Republicans have been showing they haven't had any of that for a very long time now.
I agree with much of what you say, though, to be fair, there were some serious mistakes also done, especially towards the end of the Clinton Administration. Of course, much of that may well have been exasperated by all of the impeachment junk that was unnecessarily thrown on our nation by the GOP. My fear is that it is rather obvious that, for years, we have been ruled by a party that only wants power, and the party that actually wants to govern, has not convinced enough voters that our survival is more important than social, economic and power, gamemanship.
I agree with both Robert and Fred. President Clinton made the mistake of signing off on the Free Trade Agreements . . . Perot was right, there was a giant sucking sound of our jobs leaving the country when that happened. We have to protect our manufacturing capabilities -- we can't just sell stuff to each other. We have to build again!
What's wrong with the GRAND OBSTRUCTIONIST PARTY(GOP) and its sympathisers? They don't seem to understand simple ARITHMETIC. For 8 years they controlled the House and waged two bloody wars (for nothing) and incurred the country with trillions of dollars in debt. In the process losing about 850 thousand jobs a month. When President Obama took over the reins the country nearly went into recession but with his clear vision he rally around everyone to avert the recession and introduced the economic recovery package. You fools really think that the recovery to be over in 4 years. All other plans put forward by Obama were very vigorously opposed by the GOP for the sole purpose of denying President Obama second term ignoring the sufferings of the people. GOP has no interest in the people's well-being but only greed to rule. Power crazy and self-centred egoists. Thank God, American peopole are intiligent ones (as Polls suggests), they don't buy the cheap story the Republicans try to sell.
Trickle-down, supply-side economic policies are all Republicans have. Their paid handlers refuse to allow them anything else. Mind you these are the same type policies which crashed our economy in 2008. We are still trying to dig out from all those years of failed Republican agendas. Fortunately, we have a president who can see through the nonsense.
So very well stated, Robert A.M......Twit's numbers are really starting to prove that ALOT of Americans have SEEN--HEARD--WATCHED enough of "TODAY'S" Republican Party that MANY are just completely SICK OF IT !!!!!....."The Party of NO"...."The Obstructionist Party"....."The Party of the "NO Consent-Vaginal Probe-RAPE"...."The Party of the True WAR On VOTER'S Rights"......"The Party of BAN ALL FORMS of Birth Control"......"The Party of LET the Mother DIE"......"The Party of Wanting WORLD WAR III"......"The Party of TOTAL Fiscal IR-responsibility"......The EFFECTS of George W Bush WILL BE...WILL BE "Multigenerational"....In 30 to 50 years from now, People will STILL be talking about that LYING MoFo Bastard!!!!!!!!!.......When his Library opens, I am throwing a Garbage Bag FULL of Cow Crap ALL OVER the doors of the main entrance!!!!!!.....SO MUCH Damage from "The George W Bush Disaster Planning Committee" or what's known as "TODAY'S" Republican Party"!!!!!!!!
Democrats will blame anyone and everyone but Obama. He can do no wrong in their eyes. They need to wake up and see him for who he is. They don't have to like Romney but they all sound stupid when they keep defending this incompetent president, especially when he does the same things that they've criticized republicans for doing in the past. At least republicans are willing to call out their own when they think they're wrong.
Call out their own! When McCain/Palin ran, the republicans dare not say the name "Bush". He was useless & all they done since Obama came into office is obstruct & undermine anything he purpose & any ideas to move this country forward.
The one thing about most democrats, we didn't hate Mr. Bush. They didn't sign pledge to never raise taxes or make their #1 goal for him to serve one term. They didn't question his love for this country or ask proof of his birth. We may not agree with Mr. Bush policies, but, we didn't hate the man like you & most republicans. When those planes crashes into those buildings, more than anything, we wanted Mr. Bush to find those responsible & bring them to justice. We all band together. Look what hate is doing today? Making hateful, degrading videos to insults people of different faith & causing death to our own.
How's that HATE thing working for you now?
nmy posts, At least republicans are willing to call out their own when they think they're wrong." really? hen? did i miss it?
who was called out? by whom?
rush limbaugh is a lie generator. which republcans have called him out?
romney and ryan lied about the president's welfare waiver program. ive seen no republican call them out. although every non-right wing news organization has.
obviously snmly believes republicans are never wrong.
Yes, there was alot of weeping and wailing by Republicans that Romney went in the wrong direction the day after he laid the egg.. But then the political machine whipped them into good little soldiers by day two.. So, on day two, they all smiled and said that Romney was right to crticize..
Got to wonder who the one in power behind the curtain pulling the levers.. Who is it that pulls the strings of all the congress puppets, and Republican leaning reporters? Also all the Republican elected officials who passed voter suppression laws, as well as other laws limiting the freedoms of those they govern? Who will pull the levers to control Romney Robot if he gets into office?
Just look at Sundays meet the Press.. Romney on that show states he supported parts of Obamacare and would not repeal it in it's entirety.. Then out comes a correction stating Romney didn't believe what he had just said..
I think the one pulling the strings and levers has to find ways to tighten the controls on their puppets and robots. So they aren't given a few minutes to think on their own and say things for themselves, then afterward have to backtrack those statements..
There are bugs in the process, of utter and complete control and domination of human beings which is sending out mixed messages..
Every Democrat who ran for any office for the last 32 years has, according to the GOP, had Jimmy Carter as a running mate. We've not yet begun to stop blaming Bush -- we have another 28 years of it.
We democrats put the blame, were the blame is due. To hear you support Bush, just says a lot of your reasoning, and beleifs. It ok to like bush, but his handeling of our economy, wash your mouyh out with soap!!!!!!!!!!11
I'm far less concerned with who caused this situation that why it is taking so long to fix. There has never been a recession - regardless of depth - that has taken this long to resolve. This is the most flaccid recovery on record.
Conservatives only want to be conservative (stall for time or wait) when it suits them. And the selective memory thing here is goin' full bore. Lol! "Stay the course" was said at the end of Reagan's first term when things were still not quite looking as rosy as they're remembered in hindsight. And what viable and nonpartisan evidence source can you point to to back up your suggestion?
NEWS FLASH!: Respected economists were forecasting in mid '09' that it would require at least 3-4 years regardless before any significant and stable recovery would likely occur. With the job market (as usual) following suit over the next few years. No lie! Look it up.
Mark S: Look in the mirror and ask yourself. Do I really want to know why it is taking so long for the economy to recover. I mean really be honest with yourself. Clearly you remember the Bush wars, Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, Bush's unpaid prescription plan for seniors,let us not forget about GOP obstructionist during Obama's first term, and the list goes on. But as you stated, "I'm far less concerned with who caused this situation." By the way, we are on our way to recovering from this mess the GOP has put on America.
mark s., there has never been a recession like this. check your history, the great depression took ten years and a world war before prosperity returned.
the bush recession was as close to a depression as you can come. if republicans had been in charge in 2009 there is no doubt that we would have been in the second great depression.
It's taking longer because the Republicans vowed to not let the President win on any legislation that he wanted. They are refusing to pass his job bill which would have put people to work rebuilding our crumbling, 3rd world infrastructure. The U.S.A. is in such bad shape that it's once beautiful cities are now known as some of the dirtiest and dysfunctional. We need to invest in our future - the Republicans only want to invest in the next election.
Having been a voter since Nixon was running for office I can tell you that this neocon Republican mess started when Reagan decided to hook up with the idiotic Jerry Falwell and his band of morons. The crack in our political system became even worse with their greedy, trickle-down "voodoo" economic policies.
Mark, go back to school, open your mind, let the smart in!
Remember: It is better to let people think your an idiot, then to open your mouth and remove all doughts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Specifically Melvin, what part of what I said is not the absolute truth? Have you never heard of supply-side economics or Falwell's so-called "moral majority"?
Melvin makes statements like "We MUST, brakeup these banks!!!!!!!!!" and then advises somebody else to go back to school and learn something. How rich is that?
Now, this is one of the best blogs I have read in a very long time--thank you for starting to be critical and objective. But, I have to add one more view. We remember those people who were "bullies" in our youthful days. And, now that we are adults--we can see that they are still bullies. My point, the make-up of our character does not change--no matter what. Mitt was a bully in high school and is still a bully today--one reason why his campaign managers cannot make a good decision--he bullies them--just as he bullied those affiliated with Bain. Look at poor Paul Ryan--once a strong confident person--now looking like a "whipped puppy"grinning little kid like personality--reason Mitt chose him--easy to control. Finally, Mitt espouses and implements the decision making techniques of a "defensive leader" rather than an "offensive leader" this is the primary reason he vacillates in his decisions. He cannot not go on the offensive -successfully- without having taken up a defensive posture--first.
I thought the way Clinton put it at the DNC was excellent. Saying not himself, nor a list of noteworthy former US Presidents could have fixed in 4 years what Obama was dealt right out of the starting gate. With the job market typically trailing further behind than expected. What's most laughable to me is the convenient short-term memory of the 'GOP-minded' only when it suits them. I recall plenty of times where Republican campaigns seeking a second term, such as the untouchable GOP icon, Ronald Reagan, pointed out repeatedly how it's a political science fact that the country at large doesn't see the effects of a President's policies until just about the end of his term. And this is under somewhat more favorable or "normal" socioeconomic conditions. Not inclusive of the certain compounding effect of facing arguably the worst economic fallout in American history. Arguably so if for no other reason, despite typical arguments about the normal economic cycles our nation endures, supposedly something of the scope and scale of The Great Depression would never occur again to such a damaging degree, for obvious reasons.
Republicans ought be reminded that they're suffering from some of the deepest rifts in their party in history. The party that most identifies with consistency, uniformity, control! Most mainstream Republicans are conservative leaning moderates who can't identify with what some newer aggresive arms of the GOP are about. Recall that many influential GOP insiders actually cringed when it started looking like Mitt was their man.
Some of you are so far off, it's ridiculous. The economy is this way, because people are purchasing more than they could pay. Those that lend and those that are loaned to are both responsible. Look at the credit card graph trends, look at all any graph. It doesn't matter which nation it is, this will happen to any nation that involves this. A party whether it's independent or not should work at fixing this, not making it worse. I hope that you guys compare every poll, every news authority and what not,...
The question is restictive, a either or type of question. Why don't we have a public debate of the effects of the Reagan policies, Bush policies, Clinton's, Bush's and then draw an informed conclusion? When it is limited to just Bush 43 and Obama, we are not seeing the whole picture. Presidential policies have consequencies for generations. Conservatives still worship the 40th president but some of what we are dealing with now, are direct results of his policies. George W. Bush, modeled his administration after him. Clinton pushed for deregulation which could be blamed for the crash we are dealing with. It is better to educate the nation than to cast blames.
totally agree. unfortunately, romney will be just as forthcoming about his policies as he is with his tax returns for the last ten years.
of course, then you also have ryan who ran a marathon in record time.
I am so sick of listening to this @!$%#!!!!!! When is this country going to accept that its congress and the do nothing useless fools we keep re-electing!!!!!!!
Yes, Bush and the Republican Party are the blame for the economy. Now, they want to make the claim that they can fix it. Please give me a break, it is not so. I would not trust any republican to fix the economy. The Republican Party only wants to set the agenda on the backs of the middle class Americans. I hope and pray the American people do not fall for it. It is time the agenda be set for the middle class Americans. Obama is getting the economy on track and it will be much better. It will be much better because I truly believe the American people will send the Republican Party a message that, you don't bet against the American people, because it is wrong.
It took nearly 20 years after the Herbert Hoover debacle in the 1920s before the economy finally turned completely around. But the Republicans complain because Obama was unable to fix the mess they created in only three years. The absurdity of this sort of thinking is magnified by the fact that the Republicans in the Congress stalled, filibustered, and otherwise sabotaged progress and thus further eroded our Democracy. And yet, the concepts of reason, logic and empirically based arguments are completely foreign to those who are so quick to accept the Right Wing spin machine and who seem oblivious to debate beyond emotional tirades and the falsification of facts. What we are experiencing now and into the future is the legacy of an incompetent administration led by George W. Bush. But don’t expect hyper-emotional Republicans to accept that fact or even understand it.
Well....yes I blame Bush as well and every other president for the last 60 years. This has been decades in the making, it's just now that we've started to reach critical mass and now we're on our way to a meltdown.
Let the blame, be where it should be. when the banks failed, it was under Bush, when housing failed it was under bush. When the stock market crash, it was due the Bushs, rich only policy. When we went to two wars, one called for, the other, because of wmds, was under bush. When this country amast huge deths, with out paying for it was under bush. Want more, of who's to blame?
Ask yourself this. How did romney, know before hand, that the problem in lybia, was to turn deadly. With a prepared statment, already written. Did the republican party have anything to do with the movie that started, this mess? Did thay obtain it, and with the help of youtube, air ir in the mid-east. Thay might not have known it would turn deadly, but thay new first hand, even before the president. Vaaaary strange, to say the least!