I’ve been trying to understand why Congress is rushing to (once again) spend an incredible amount of money when the public support for such an approach is diminishing day-by-day. Scott Rasmussen, whose Rasmussen Reports is one of the most accurate poling outfits, sums it up:
“it’s basically a tug-of-war between a president with high job approval ratings and a public’s generic skepticism about government spending.”
So while 48% of the nation’s voters say more government spending is generally bad for the economy, and 57% of voters see tax cuts as good for the economy, and 45% of voters would support a stimulus package with no new spending and a round of tax cuts while just 15% support a spending-only approach to the rescue plan, and with the country evenly divided on Obama’s “failure to act will lead to an economic catastrophe” assertion, the President is hoping his rhetorical abilities (this time employed to awaken fear, not hope) will help him strong arm the bill to his desk.
Here’s the bad news for the President: His approval index is down 10% in the last week. For the good of the country, I’m hoping the pork-filled bill is defeated. But I’m not holding my breath.