Poll: Bush still blamed for economy

[sabra]

Source: CNN

(CNN) - More than a year after President George W. Bush left office, more Americans continue to blame his administration over any other entity for the nation's economic woes, according to a new poll.

In a New York Times/CBS News survey out Friday, 31 percent of Americans said the Bush administration is at fault for the current state of the economy while only 7 percent pointed their finger at President Obama and his team.

An additional 23 percent said the fault lies with Wall Street institutions while 13 percent assign the blame to Congress. Nearly 10 percent said the blame lies with all of them.

In a CNN/Opinion Research poll released last November, the public appeared split on who should be blamed if economic conditions don't approve: 47 percent said Bush and congressional Republicans while 45 percent said Obama and congressional Democrats.

Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/02/12/poll-bush-still-blamed-for-economy/?fbid=VP2LgjjHQ1T

---

I think we know the answer to this question:

[otohara]

1. Well Blow Me Over

Miss him yet?

[Jefferson23]

2. Has it been reported who put that billboard up?

[CatholicEdHead]

4. "Small Busines Owners" of the Wyoming, MN area

who do not want to be named.

[Jefferson23]

9. Thank you for that, you prompted me to do a search:

snip* The company said the space was purchased by a group of small business owners from the seven-county metro area who feel Washington, D.C., is against them. And they want to remain anonymous.

"If you want to get your point across, why would you be anonymous? You obviously have a strong opinion," resident Sara Chouinard said.

Chouinard, who works at the local coffee shop, thinks the extra attention is good for the small Minnesota town, but said not everyone agrees with the message.

"This is America...you can put up any sign that you want. However, I do not miss George Bush, not even a little bit," she said.
http://www.wptz.com/news/22520353/detail.html

Too funny.

[JDPriestly]

29. Let's see. Isn't GWB a small businessman? He'd probably make that claim

if he thought there was money or an improved reputation in it.

[stubtoe]

5. An extra large pizza with everything on it says it was Cheney.

:)

[Jefferson23]

6. lol, could very well be.

[Demeter]

17. I didn't think they were on speaking terms since the Nukes took a plane trip unexpectedly

but who knows what evils they are up to?

[O is 44]

22. My thoughts exactly…..

the propaganda machine in full affect.

[JackRiddler]

54. People with no sense of irony, otherwise they would have found a different picture.

He looks like a total clown in most pictures, but no doubt you can find a few where he doesn't. Not that bad.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

3. Man, are we a bunch of amnesiac morons or what? Those numbers should not be

that close.

[Common Sense Party]

7. And of course WE the American PEOPLE are NEVER at fault.

We had NOTHING to do with any of this.

We didn't live far beyond our means.

We didn't stop saving cash for emergencies.

We didn't buy houses bigger than we needed, at the top of a real estate bubble.

We didn't treat our homes like ATMs, pulling out the equity in order to buy stuff.

We didn't borrow vast sums of money via ridiculous interest-only and adjustable rate mortgages that our income and credit rating didn't justify.

We didn't trust big banks to do the right thing. We didn't trust appraisers who fudged the numbers. We didn't believe the bond-raters who said that all the mortgage-backed securities were safe.

We didn't invest like aggressive Vegas gamblers in the most aggressive parts of our retirement plans.

We didn't keep electing politicians in both parties who feigned ignorance of the whole thing.



Yes, the politicians, the banks and lenders all share some of the blame. But it's the height of ignorance and arrogance for the American public to think that WE are inonocent in all of this.

And, pre-emtively, let me state that I know that not ALL Americans are guilty of these things. You didn't commit the above sins? Good for you. Neither did I--except voting for head-in-the-sand politicians. But MANY of our fellow Amur'cans DID. You can deny that if you want.

[CountAllVotes]

18. true to a large degree, but ...

I had just paid off my house in the year 2003. I decided to buy a new car at a heftily discounted price at the end of that year and decided to take out a loan from the car dealer at 4.5% at that time.

When I went to the bank they told me I should take out a home equity loan to pay for it. I barked at them, HELL NO! They tried to convince me that this was the way to go.

You cannot blame all of the people all of the time.

Many persons were in the mix on this entire meltdown. You cannot blame one person nor one thing as that is far too simple of a solution for a situation that is global in its complexity.

Today, the DOW is where it stood at the end of the year 2000 before Bush came into office. Whoopie huh?

:dem:

[teknomanzer]

23. Are we blaming the victim here?

Did WE create wage stagnation for the middle class?

And did WE replace rising wages with more options for credit?

Did WE twist psychological principles to develop the massive corporate propaganda machine, the aim of which is to turn every last person into a mindless consumer?

Did WE buy up large chunks of the media to ensure that nobody but a hand full of corporations have the big bullhorn?

Did WE implement deceptive and predatory lending practices that trapped people into homes they could not afford?

This is a fucking broken society which is going to produce broken people, and broken institutions. The "American Dream" which used to be about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has been perverted into shameless fucking greed. Thanks to the message blasting from the idiot box The attitude of this country is "I got mines - get yours but don't try to take anything from me."

The United States is a pseudo-democracy, a front for the plutocrats.

[clixtox]

46. My kind of post! Fabulous...

Some are describing the current political system as, "INVERTED TOTALITARIANISM". Look it up, please. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism>

The USA was founded by, and for, the American landed gentry of the time.

Since then the concentration of wealth in just a relatively few families control has been institutionalized, with the government utilized to maintain and protect their absolute hegemony.

And here we are...

[treestar]

27. Agree. I was glad to read this article but starting immediately to think

Why do we always have to blame somebody? And it should not be just one person or group.

[No Elephants]

36. For this economic collapse, people were at fault. They knew what they were doing. But, you're right

that it was far more than one group.

The group with the least knowledge of what was going on and the least opportunity to figure it out, though, were the Jills and Joes Six Pack. Yet, no sooner did the economy hit the fan that the PNACers in places like CNBC started yelling about homes with three bathrooms.

Puh-lease.

[No Elephants]

35. I don't agree that some working stiff buying a home was under some kind of

duty to figure out that the appraiser--ostensibly hired by the bank to make absolutely sure the home was more valuable than the mortgage--was under pressure from the bank to inflate numbers, so that the bank could flip the mortgage to people who were creating derivatives.

Some electrician should have figured out what people at Goldman Sachs and AIG who make more a minute than he or she makes all year were up to before he or she took out a second mortgage to expand his her business or send a kid to college? Corporate lawyers dealing in several transactions a year were missing the big picture..

The banks and Wall Street deserve some of the blame?

Sorry, not buying it.

[Common Sense Party]

45. Buy it or not, I don't care

It's simplistic and knee-jerk to say that Wall Street and the banks did ALL of this TO us.

We did much of it to ourselves, and they were only too willing to profit off of it.

And yes, when we bought a house during the expanding bubble, we were very aware that the lenders, appraisers and real estate agent were all working together to "make the numbers work."

[Beetwasher]

8. Ha Ha!

Legacy.

[CountAllVotes]

10. And ...

We Will Not Forget!!!

:dem: :kick:

[Vincardog]

11. I don' blame the idiot bush, I blame Ray Gun

[8 track mind]

12. To a degree, yes

Reagan put the frame work in place. Bush and Cheney exploited it for all it was worth.

[Vincardog]

15. aWol and Darth only put into practice the the Bedrock Conservative 'principals' that lead to the

last Great Depression. It the failure to acknowledge this fact that prevents US from correcting those policies it fosters.

[8 track mind]

20. Growing up in the midwest in the late 70's and early 80's

when ray-gun got elected it was like all hell broke loose. In Springfield, Mo, factories were shutting down so fast. We lost Zenith television (packed up and sent to Mexico) and Dayco rubber in one year. Crime started going through the roof. What blew my mind is that people kept voting that fucker back in. I can remember my parents wondering aloud if the whole country had gone stark raving mad.

[Vincardog]

21. The only reason I can think of that the Democratic Leadership does not state the facts loudly and

often is that they want the Republican party to survive.
The Repugs seem to give them the excuse they need to pander to their Corporate Owners.

[clixtox]

47. Of course there are differences between the...

Democratic Party and the Rethuglicans!

Otherwise they couldn't fool anybody...

Of course they both conspire together to demonize and crush any third party attempting to broaden the typical discussion of "wedge issues" with substantive topics.

The Dems and Reps are two wings, or branches, of the Capitalist Party. They both do the bidding of their corporate masters, especially, obviously, the Military-Industrial "Complex".

Neither major political party is doing any more than what is minimally required to keep the sheeple quiescent.

Neither party really cares empathetically for the"middle class" let alone American working people or the poor, disabled or veterans.

To their way of thinking we are just suckers, scum, generally beneath contempt and to be avoided, on their Earth only to be exploited, controlled and discarded.

The predominate, perhaps the universal religion of the USA is greed, albeit Christian cupidity, with a unhealthy dollop of brutality, racism and jingoism on top.

And here we are...

[rfranklin]

24. Because Reagan told them welfare queens and affirmative action...

(read "blacks") were the cause of all their troubles and too many dumb racist Americans agreed.

[No Elephants]

38. I thought Reagan's schtick was claiming big government was to blame for everyone's problems.

Either way, Reagan did a lot more than blame the wrong people.

He began the dismantling of the economic safeguards put in place since Roosevelt's day--and I mean Teddy, as well ads FDR. Our economic collapse, "too big to fail" monopolies, the SEC turning a blind eye to both crappy derivatives and the likes of Bernie Madoff and Sanford--and on and on, all had their start under that goof.

I just cannot bear to hear him stil being praised. (Don Rickles did so last night on Craig Ferguson.---"No matter what your politics are, Reagan was a great guy" my ass.)

[rfranklin]

48. Yes, blaming government was part of the formula...

because back then many government agencies and regulations were actually empowering the litle guy.

[OldDem_63]

34. And don't forget Gingrich

and his "contract on America"

[No Elephants]

37. Don't be so stingy! Plenty of blame to go around.

Bush may or may not be an idiot. I wouldn't know. But I know he was not acting on his own.

If you assume he was trying his best to do his best for American, but failed because he is dumb, then you probably shouldn't blame him. That is not my assumption.


I assume he was trying to make people like the owners of Blackwater and Halliburton rich, get himself re-elected and get a hold on politics for his Party, no matter what it took to do that.

And, if I am going to be charitable, maybe, with his twisted mind, someone convinced him, or he convinced himself, that all those things were ultimately best for America, in some bizarre, trickle down way.

I sure wish I could give back my share of all the casualties he left in his wake, though. Physical, spiritual, economic, whatever. I don't want them on my conscience and never did. Yet, they will always be there.

[endless october]

13. i blame outsourcing and unfair trade also.

and that has been going on for decades.

Bush continued and expanded these policies.

if the policies continue, the results will most likely be the same : a shrinking middle class and a wider gap between the poor and the banksters.

it would be nice if Democrats in power recognized this, worked on educating the public about it, and reversed the policies.

[sonias]

14. It should be at least 80% blaming bush for the economy

The difference is those people in denial - those republicans who are revisionist historians. They will never accept responsibility for anything.

People like Dana Perino who said America was never attacked on U.S. soil during the bushie years. These people have their heads stuck up their asses. Then there is that 23-25 percent of people who approved of bush' performance the entire time of his presidency.

No we don't miss you one bit Mr. "Worst President Ever" bush! It's going to take decades to clean up the mess you left behind. :puke:


Sonia

[Alias Dictus Tyrant]

16. The blame lies with all of them n/t

[StarryNite]

19. Good!

He should be.

[liberal N proud]

25. For 8 years it was always Clinton's fault

I thought for sure that now it would all be Obama's fault.

[No Elephants]

39. LOL, please see the subject line of Reply # 37.

Only time will tell about Obama--too soon yet--but Clinton is not exactly blameless for our current state. And Congress, both Republican and Democrat. And Bush. And Raygun. And Wall Street. And so on.

[liberal N proud]

42. More debt was assumed while bu$h was in office than the previous 42

COMBINED!

[24601]

26. Only 31% blame Bush - well that accounts for our base. It also

means that 69% don't and that running on "Bush did it" will resonate only with those already voting blue. To win, another strategy will be needed. You gotta sell what you have to offer, not what you ain't when "ain't" ain't running.

[Kolesar]

30. Unless 20% of the voters would say "Bush did it" as their second attribution for ruining the economy

[No Elephants]

40. 31% Bush, but others said Republican members of Congress, Democratic members of Congress, Wall

Street, Etc. So, it is not 31% Bush and the rest on the head of Obama and other Democrats in office. And probably all those answers are correct. And now, maybe we should throw in the Supreme Court, too. (And yes, Clinton, too, but shhhh.)

However, I have not noticed any reticence on the part of today's Democrats to blame Bush, Wall Street, health insurers, and almost anyone but themselves. Not that I blame them. That is SOP in politics. And, in this case, mostly true, in my opinion.

Trouble is blame is one thing. Actions another. For instance, you can rail against Wall Street, but, if all you do is rail, no one is going to buy it. Not with almost unconditional bailouts and no regulation since the collapse. You can rail against Bush, but, if you don't prosecute....and so on.

As always, actions speak louder than words.

[Blue_Tires]

28. well, duh

[Lisburn]

31. Hey

New here .

[Lisburn]

32. Sorry

New here.
How do I get a job ?
Unemployed here for 7 months.

[No Elephants]

41. Hi. I wish I knew what to tell you.

I'm sure you've done all you can in terms of looking on the Internet, calling everyone you know or ever knew,, checking with private and public employment agencies, checking newspapers, craigs list, etc.

Many who post here regularly are unemployed, too, or their significant other or their kids, etc. It's just rough. I'm so sorry.

I hope to goodness you find something soon.

[Kurovski]

33. Only a LYING SACK OF SHIT would say Bush is out of the woods yet.

But if Obama keeps fucking around, his turn on the shit pile will come soon enough.

Jobs, please Mr.President.

[Jimbo S]

43. I think the Economy is bigger than the Presidency

The only thing I blame Bush for is his denial early in 2008 (an election year) that anything was wrong, therefore delaying any action. All in order to keep his party in the White House.

To me, the things causing this downturn:
- trade deficit
- federal debt
- consumer debt

Thirty years of supply-side economics and union-busting has hurt the middle class. What we are experiencing was a ticking time bomb now going off.

We need to buy American stuff. Don't buy Japanese or Chinese stuff.
Buy union made stuff.
Live within our means.

[lib_n_proud7650]

44. Glad that at least some Americans know why we're in such a mess

[Zorra]

49. Ah, come on. Every good 'murican knows it's Clinton's fault. nt

[Overseas]

50. So they think the Bush Crash and Bush Bailout and the trillion plus deficit he handed over

were Bush's fault? Well I declare.


That billboard shows the snickering liar-- most seeing it would say Hell No!
Looks like him saying "Found those weapons of mass destruction yet?" snicker snicker heh heh heh

[chromotone]

51. NPR on Saturday tried very hard to place the blame on the Democrats.

From last Saturday:

Mr. KOHUT: People, when asked, still say the Republicans are responsible a plurality, 39 to 27, say that Republicans are responsible, not the Democrats, for current economic conditions. However, the public is increasingly frustrated by President Obama's attempts to mend the economy. Fifty percent say he's not trying hard enough. We have equal numbers saying he's helping and hurting the economy.

So, while the Democrats may not own responsibility for causing it, they have responsibility to fix it because they are in power.

SIMON: Now, the president often points out if he's criticized for getting, some people would say, distracted by health care overhaul, that he sees that as necessary to improving the economy.

Mr. KOHUT: Well, the surprising thing in this poll is while most people continue to say they oppose the health care reform bills, only 25 percent of the public says let's drop it. Most people say, even many of the opponents say, let's keep going and get this fixed. Health care reform, in principle, is well regarded, but the public doesn't like the proposals that they've seen.

SIMON: Now, the conventional wisdom, as I don't have to remind you - although you're a man that thinks above and beyond the conventional wisdom -conventional wisdom is when you have people this unhappy, the party in power is going to suffer and lose seats in Congress. How does that play out in your mind?

Mr. KOHUT: Well, you certainly see some indications of that. The image of the Republican Party is a little bit better for the first time in years. The images of the Democratic Party has slipped. Voting intentions are about even. So, there are indications of that. It's a matter of what will the degree be. Will this be like 1982, where Ronald Reagan's Republican Party lost a modest number of seats, or will it be like '94 or '06, where there's a real turnaround in party control in Congress with a big shift in seats?

--more--
NPR Saturday

It's a bit disingenuous to have the heading, "Polls show GOP looking better," when 39% to 27% say the GOP is responsible for the current financial mess. What was it before? "40% to 26%?

[Overseas]

53. There are probably still many Bush Gang "leave behinds" at NPR.

Republicans put more conservatives into NPR management when they were in power. NPR became far less liberal than it used to be. I don't listen much to NPR anymore because they became too conservative for me. It was painful to hear them talk about Bush Gang activities as though they were just business as usual for the most part. To hear them going along with the pretense that the public is more conservative than it really is.

That said, I'm one of those who voted once again for my Democratic dream of good government, for a 21st Century Green FDR approach by our president, with strong Democratic Congressional backing, because we'd just come through the worst US presidency with its Bush Crash and Bush Bailout. Republicans had driven us off economic and moral cliffs, so I thought the whole party would finally go FDR again because it was the most practical path for the majority of Americans. To reestablish good government, starting with single payer Medicare for All who chose it and opening up the Congressional insurance exchange for those who preferred to go or stay with privatized health insurance.

I'm one of those who wanted strong teaching moments-- Democrats explaining in detail how Republican policies had driven us off those cliffs. So I was disheartened by all that damn bipartisan pretending. Pretending the party that had destroyed our country and was at 29% approval could still have anything useful to contribute. All the compromising of the past had made our party look too weak and part of the Bush Gang legacy was to scare about 1/3 of the public, even to the point of believing that torture is not a war crime.

But when I got a president and congress too determined to compromise with the Greedy Obstructionist Plutocrats' destructive immoral and unethical policies, that didn't mean I would want to return to the cruel idiotic presidency of the war profiteers and torturers. Hell no.

[Xenotime]

52. I blame him for more than just that.