Key polls - 04/26-05/05, 2009

What They Told Us: Reviewing the week of April 26 – May 05, 2009 Key Polls
Saturday, May 02, 2009

What the heck’s happening on the Hill? Capitol Hill , that is.After President Obama celebrated his first 100 days in office this past week, Rasmussen Reports took a closer look at the other two branches of government in the news.At week’s end, the big news of course was that Supreme Court Justice David Souter is planning to step down this summer, allowing the president to name his first member of the high court. Forty-two percent (42%) of U.S. voters believe Obama’s nominee will be too liberal, but 41% say politically his choice will be about right.Across the street at the Capitol itself, Democrats almost assuredly achieved a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate with Republican Senator Arlen Specter’s decision this week to become a Democrat. Forty-two percent (42%) of voters believe Specter’s switch will have a significant impact on the laws passed by the Senate.Congress is currently debating whether to establish a government-run health insurance company to compete with private health insurers, but Americans are closely divided on the wisdom of that move. Forty-one percent (41%) are in favor of a government-run plan, while 44% are opposed.To be relevant in politics, you need either formal power or a lot of people willing to follow your lead. The governing Republicans in the nation’s capital have lost both on their continuing path to irrelevance, according to Scott Rasmussen’s analysis.But then just 21% of GOP voters believe Republicans in Congress have done a good job representing their own party’s values.Ironically, for just the second time in more than five years of tracking, Democrats have fallen below Republicans in the Generic Congressional Ballot. However, in April, for the second straight month, the number of Republicans in the nation fell by roughly half a percentage point. The number of Democrats remained unchanged from a month ago.Americans have a little more confidence in the honesty of the average congressman this month, but they’re less confident that Congress as a whole will address the serious issues facing the nation. Only 30% of U.S. voters now say most members of Congress are corrupt, the lowest that finding has been since June of last year.With numbers like that, why do virtually all members of Congress get reelected? Fifty percent (50%) believe the high reelection rates result from election rules that are “rigged to benefit members of Congress.” The fact that half the nation’s voters believe the rules are "rigged" is a testament to the high levels of distrust in the country today.It doesn’t help that 60% of Americans lack confidence in the policymakers’ decisions about the economy .If the U.S. economy improves, it seems safe to assume that will be good for the president’s job approval ratings. It will probably help congressional ratings as well. But the bigger question is what impact the improving economy might have on the president’s policies. Here, Scott explains in a separate analysis, the results are much harder to forecast.The president’s 100th day in office was noted by many in the media and capped with a White House press conference. But will the actions of Obama’s first 100 days lead to lasting change? As the new administration grapples with the complexities of 21st Century America, the president’s own actions will be just one of many variables impacting his personal ratings and support for his agenda, Scott says.Make sure you check out the new president’s ratings at the 100-day mark on a variety of our survey questions. Meanwhile, the Rasmussen Reports Presidential Tracking Poll continues to check the nation’s pulse every day.The biggest economic news of the week was Chrysler’s announcement Thursday that it is going into bankruptcy. But 66% of Americans believe a Chrysler bankruptcy is better than another government bailout , a position they’ve held consistently for months.Fifty-four percent (54%) also believe it is at least somewhat likely that Chrysler will once again be a profitable company. The bad news is that just 25% of Americans say they would buy an automobile from a bankrupt automaker.On the small business front, confidence is at its highest level in over a year in the Discover Small Business Watch, a monthly index.The Rasmussen Investor Index, which measures investor confidence on a daily basis, rallied at week’s end to within five points of its 2009 high-water mark. The Rasmussen Consumer Index was little changed from a month ago.Speaking of the economy, 77% of U.S. voters say they prefer a free market economy over one managed by the government. That’s up seven points since December. But 21% of Americans say the U.S. economy is partially socialist, and another five percent (5%) say generally speaking it’s already socialist.In other polls last week:-- Sixty-five percent (65%) of voters say they are personally concerned about the threat of swine flu, including 20% who say they are Very Concerned. But 61% also think the media is overhyping the danger .-- Twenty-four percent (24%) of Americans say they personally need to cut back on their use of credit cards and other borrowing. Sixty-eight percent (68%) say a bigger economic problem than the current lack of credit is that Americans borrow too much money.-- Just 42% of voters now believe the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror. That’s the lowest level of confidence since June 30, 2008.-- Americans appear more upbeat about the direction the country is taking in the short term but are growing more pessimistic about its long-term future.-- One-out-of-two (50%) Americans agree that drunk driving laws in the United States are not tough enough.-- More than half (57%) of Florida voters say it is at least somewhat likely they would vote for Republican Governor Charlie Crist if he runs for the U.S. Senate next year.-- Forty-five percent (45%) of Georgia voters say the state’s next governor will be a Republican, while 38% predict a Democrat will capture that seat. State Insurance and Fire Commissioner John Oxendine, a Republican, has by far the highest favorables among the possible candidates from both parties, but the election is 18 months away.
42% Say Obama's Supreme Court Pick Will Be Too Liberal, 41% Say About RightSupreme Court Justice David Souter has reportedly decided to retire, paving the way for President Obama's first high court appointment, but 42% of U.S. voters believe the president's nominee will be too liberal. A nearly equal number-41%-- say his choice will be about right, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. These numbers have changed very little since Election Day.