Poll spells doom for O/Dems support from voters

Poll: Republicans gain on Obama, public welcomes GOP power to block Washington Examiner
By: Byron York

A new poll shows Republicans making solid gains, and President Obama losing ground, in public opinion on the most important issues facing the country.

The survey, by the Washington Post and ABC News asks the question, "Who do you trust to do a better job handling" a particular issue -- President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Obama has out-polled the GOP on the question from the moment of his swearing in, but the poll shows his advantage shrinking dramatically.

Asked who they trust to better handle the economy, those surveyed pick Obama over the GOP by 47 percent to 42 percent, giving the president a five-point margin. But in November, in the same poll, Obama led by 15 points. Last July, he led by 23 points. And last February, he his lead was 55 points. So in the course of a single year, Obama's lead over Republicans has shrunk from 55 points to five.

Results are similar in other areas...

In addition, the Post and ABC found that the public is glad that Republicans now have the power in the Senate to block Obama initiatives. The pollsters asked, "Republicans now hold enough seats in the U.S. Senate to block any legislation Obama and the Senate Democrats propose. Overall, do you think this is (a good thing because it will force Obama and the Democrats to cooperate more with the Republicans); OR (a bad thing because it will enable the Republicans to set terms before allowing anything to go forward)?" Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed say it's a good thing, versus 36 percent who say it's a bad thing. That does not mean that people want Republicans to use their power to block all of Obama's initiatives; when asked how often the GOP should use that power, 10 percent say "almost always," 15 percent say "a great deal," 49 percent say "just some" and 16 percent say "rarely." The bottom line is that people are happy to have a Republican check on Obama, even though they don't want to see it exercised all the time.

All in all, the poll shows the public growing increasingly confident in the GOP's ability to handle critical issues.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Poll-Republicans-gain-on-Obama-public-welcomes-GOP-power-to-block-84006402.html#ixzz0fFaS1dPc