Americans Want Government to Do Less, Poll Finds

Adam Nagourney's might as well be on another planet as far as his discussion of the latest New York Times poll goes. The summary is trying to pitch the poll results as a "battle" for public support, but it doesn't take a statistician to understand that these numbers are disastrous for the administration and the Democrats.

The main article is "Poll Finds Edge for Obama Over G.O.P. Among the Public." But check the raw survey itself, "New York Times/CBS News Poll: An Edge in the Battle for Public Support." On page 14 of the survey, 56 percent indicate they'd like to have a "smaller government providing fewer services," and below that we find a huge majority of almost 6 in 10 saying "government is doing too many things better left to businesses and individuals":

Also, more than twice as many people say that jobs and the economy are more important issues than healthcare (59 percent/27 percent). And the public prefers the Republican Party to the Democrats in terms of which party is "more likely to ensure a strong economy" (42 percent/37 percent). And 53 percent disagreed that the president "has offered reasonable solutions to the economic problems you and your family are facing."

And while Nagourney focuses on who deserves the bigger blame for the budget deficits, the survey finds that just 22 percent of Americans consider themselves "liberal" (compared to 35 percent who consider themselves conservative). There's a tremendous degree of populist anger at the poll, directed at big institutions and big government, and both parties have much to worry about in the heavy anti-incumbent sentiment identified. But come November, it's the party in power that'll be punished, and it's clear from this poll and others that the GOP is looking well positioned to make substantial gains in the Congress. It's definitely going to be an earthquake election on the scale of 1994. The administration has every reason to worry about its prospects. If it can't get more favorable approval on economic conditions and confidence in economic management, the Dems will face a monstrously disastrous blowout come November.