Obama Wins Higher Ratings From Average Americans Than Investors
President Barack Obama is rated more highly by the general public than by affluent U.S. investors for the job he’s doing and his economic stewardship.
Sixty-one percent of Americans surveyed in a Bloomberg News poll Sept. 10-14 say they view Obama favorably, compared with 49 percent of U.S. investors in a separate poll in July. Forty-six percent in the latest poll express optimism about the government’s economic plan, versus 27 percent of investors.
“These groups approach economic issues with different mindsets,” says J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co., the Des Moines, Iowa-based firm that conducted the polls. “Investors focus on the money with their business interests in mind. The American public is highly charged by the partisan debate.”
Investors are almost evenly divided over whether Obama or former President George W. Bush provided better economic leadership, with 43 percent supporting Bush and 41 percent backing Obama. By contrast, ordinary Americans give the nod to Obama by a 55 percent to 28 percent margin.
Since the July poll, consumer confidence has risen and the economy has shown signs of recovering from its deepest slump since World War II. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Sept. 15 that the recession is probably over.
The general public and investors also differ in their assessments of the banking and car industries, which together received more than $300 billion in government aid.
Pessimism About Banks
Fifty-three percent of the 1,004 adults contacted this month say they are pessimistic about the health of both industries. Investors are more concerned about auto companies, with 78 percent voicing pessimism, than they are about the banks, where 47 percent are pessimistic. The margin of error in the latest poll is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Both groups agreed banks will be better off a year from now, though they would still have problems. Sixty percent of Americans say they believe that, while more than three-quarters of U free credit report and score.S. investors report having that view.
The two groups are also in general agreement on the biggest risk facing the economy over the next two years.
Sixty-two percent of the public cite high unemployment as the largest danger, compared with 34 percent who single out rising inflation. Investors also see a weak economy as a greater threat than inflation, by 64 percent to 35 percent.
Climate Change
The general public is slightly more worried about climate change than investors are, the surveys show. Forty percent of Americans see that as a major threat, versus 32 percent of investors.
Both groups give Bernanke high marks. Three-quarters of U.S. investors have a favorable view of the Fed chairman, versus 24 percent who have an unfavorable view.
After a summer in which Bernanke, a Bush appointee, held a series of campaign-style town meetings and was renominated by Obama, he has also established a broad appeal with the general public and is viewed favorably across political party lines.
Forty-one percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of Bernanke, nearly twice as many as rate him unfavorably. Thirty- seven percent aren’t sure.
By contrast, the Obama Administration’s highest-ranking economic official, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, splits the country along partisan lines, with Republicans and independents holding a more negative than positive view. The public overall is about evenly divided on him. About a third of Americans say they don’t have an opinion about Geithner is, about the same number as for Bernanke.
In July, a majority of investors — 52 to 47 percent — had an unfavorable view of Geithner. The July survey of 402 U.S. investors had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
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