Sep 02, 2010

Poll: George W. Bush still gets blamed for economic woes

12:00 PM 460

Nearly two years after Barack Obama was elected president, Americans still are inclined to blame his predecessor for the nation's current economic problems.

In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday, more than a third of those surveyed said George W. Bush deserved a great deal of the blame for economic woes and a third said he should get a moderate amount of it. Not quite another third called that unfair, saying he warranted not much or none of the responsibility.

The 71% saying Bush should get blamed was a modest decline from the 80% who felt that way about a year ago, in July 2009.

What about President Obama?

In the July 2009 poll, a third, 32%, said he should shoulder a great deal or moderate amount of the blame. That percentage has risen -- no surprise, given that he's been in office for 20 months. Now almost half, 48%, do. But 51% say he's dealing with problems he inherited, not created, saying he deserves not much or none of the responsibility for economic problems that include high unemployment and a faltering housing market.

There was, predictably, a yawning partisan divide on the question. Republicans by 4-1, 44%-10%, were more likely to give Obama a great deal of the blame than Bush. Democrats by more than 20-1 targeted Bush: They said the former president bore a great deal of the blame; just 3% said that of the current one.

The survey of 1,021 adults, taken by landline and cell phone, has a margin of error of +/-4 percentage points.

http://www.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/Index