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Economy Title: Poll Suggests Opportunities for Both Parties Republicans are heading into the general election phase of the midterm campaign backed by two powerful currents: the highest proportion of voters in two decades say it is time for their own member of Congress to be replaced, and Americans are expressing widespread dissatisfaction with President Obama’s leadership. But the latest New York Times/CBS News poll also finds that while voters rate the performance of Democrats negatively, they view Republicans as even worse, providing a potential opening for Democrats to make a last-ditch case for keeping their hold on power. The poll represents a snapshot of the country’s political mood as the campaign pivots from primary contests that have revealed deep divisions among Republicans into the general election, where the parties deliver their competing arguments to a wider audience. The findings suggest that there are opportunities and vulnerabilities for both parties as they proceed into the final seven weeks of the campaign. A case for Republicans: Voters are remarkably open to change, even if they are not sure where Republicans will lead them. Most Americans, including one-third of those in the coalition that elected Mr. Obama, now say he does not have a clear plan to solve the nation’s problems or create jobs. Democrats remain highly vulnerable on the economy. A case for Democrats: They are seen as having better ideas for solving the country’s problems. The public steadfastly supports the president’s proposal to let tax cuts expire for the wealthiest Americans. And far more people still blame Wall Street and the Bush administration than blame Mr. Obama for the country’s economic problems. Voters have a darker view of Congressional Republicans than of Democrats, with 63 percent disapproving of Democrats and 73 percent disapproving of Republicans. But with less than two months remaining until Election Day, there are few signs that Democrats have made gains persuading Americans that they should keep control of Congress. “I really think we need to get some new blood in there,” said Kathy Beckman, 44, an optometrist from Lodi, Calif., who spoke in an interview after participating in the poll. “Get them all out.” The mood of the country is similar in many respects to the fall of 1994, when Republicans swept control of Congress. There is an overall low Congressional approval, large numbers of Americans who believe the country is on the wrong track and soaring discontent among voters with their own representative. It is that particular finding in the poll that underscores the true depths of the disgruntlement among the public and is an ominous sign for Democrats, who have a 39-seat majority in the House and a 10-seat majority in the Senate. In many election cycles, voters readily acknowledge that they are dissatisfied with government or Congress in general, but they tend to have a stronger connection toward their own representative. That is not the case this year, with 55 percent of voters saying it is time for new leadership and only 34 percent saying their lawmaker deserves re-election. It is a historic high for a question asked in each midterm election year since 1990. The economic climate is also worse this year, with 8 in 10 Americans rating the economy negatively and 4 in 10 saying that their family’s financial situation is worse than it was two years ago. In September 1994, two months before Democrats lost their majorities in the House and Senate, more than half of people said the condition of the national economy was good. The economy and jobs are increasingly and overwhelmingly cited by Americans as the most important problems facing the country, while the federal budget deficit barely registers as a topic of concern when survey respondents were asked to volunteer their worries. The national telephone poll was conducted Friday through Tuesday, the day that primary contests unfolded in seven states. The survey included 990 adults, of whom 881 were registered voters. The poll had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points. Voters do not perceive Republicans as having better ideas and disagree with them on the biggest economic issue of the campaign — whether to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy — a sign the party has no real advantage on key pieces of their agenda, which makes it more necessary to run as a generic alternative to the party in power. The Tea Party movement, which showed its strength in Republican primaries in Delaware and New York, has yet to be fully defined for many Americans. Nearly half of voters say they are undecided or have not heard enough about the Tea Party to form an opinion, a sign that offers an opportunity for the movement to define itself to many voters and help shape their views of it before Election Day. Nearly half of all Republican voters say they have a favorable opinion of the Tea Party. But the view of the movement among independent voters grew more negative since a Times/CBS poll was conducted in April. Now, 30 percent of independent voters have an unfavorable view of the Tea Party, with 18 percent holding a favorable view and more than half offering no opinion. The president’s overall job approval rating is 45 percent, with 47 percent disapproving. On the economy, his rating is worse, with 41 percent approving and 51 percent disapproving. When asked whether Mr. Obama has a clear plan for solving the nation’s problems, 57 percent responded that he did not, yet twice as many give him more credit than Republicans for having a plan. “He had a lot of plans and he’s not really sticking to them like he said he would,” Tammy Danley, 38, an independent voter from Louisburg, Kan., said in an interview after participating in the poll. “It seems like a lot of talk and not a lot of action.” With the Democratic majority on the line, and the outcome of the election seen as a referendum on the president, 45 percent of voters said Mr. Obama would not be a factor in their vote in November, while 23 percent said their vote would be for Mr. Obama and 25 percent said it would be against him. The poll found that the public has an increasingly negative opinion of Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee, with nearly half now holding an unfavorable view of her. Her favorable rating is down nine percentage points since April. Since then, she has increased her presence in the midterm election campaign, endorsing dozens of Republican candidates across the country, most of whom were also backed by Tea Party activists. Two-thirds of Americans think that Ms. Palin’s primary motivation is staying in the public eye, rather than helping conservative candidates get elected. “I think she is trying to be more in the public eye for her own benefit,” said Kathy Allen, 51, an unemployed worker from Idaho Falls, Idaho, who spoke in an interview after participating in the poll, “whether it be or financial purposes or in order to run for something again.” Marjorie Connelly, Marina Stefan and Dalia Sussman contributed reporting.
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