Rasmussen…
What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls
Saturday, August 11, 2012

For many Americans, this year’s presidential race couldn’t be clearer: One candidate wants to expand the government’s role in the economy and the business world; the other claims he wants to reduce the size of that footprint.

Most Americans don’t like the idea of the federal government playing favorites in the business world. Fifty-five percent (55%) of Likely U.S. Voters think it is not appropriate for the government to invest in private companies.

More specifically, most voters don’t think the federal government should have invested in the failed solar power business Solyndrawhich ended up costing taxpayers more than a half-billion dollars.  But most also think it’s business as usual for government officials to help companies they like.

“In other words,” as Scott Rasmussen writes in his latest syndicated newspaper column, “Americans believe crony capitalism is a reality regardless of which party is in the White House. This is the root cause of much of the frustration sweeping the nation today. Voters don't want to be selecting a venture-capitalist-in-chief; they want to pick someone to run the government. And they want the government to stop picking winners and losers in the business world.”

Voters want to let the free market work and get politics out of the mix. When the president of Chick-fil-A spoke out in support of traditional marriage in a recent interview, the mayors of Boston, Chicago and San Francisco angrily responded by saying the fast-food chain wasn’t welcome in their cities. But 87% of voters say government officials should not be allowed to prohibit a business from opening if they disagree with the political views of the business owner.

Sixty-one percent (61%) hold a favorable opinion of the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain.  Just 13% are likely to participate in a boycott of its restaurants, while 31% say they will show their appreciation by eating there more often. By comparison, 17% favored a bailout of General Motors following the government bailout, and 18% favored a boycott of all bailed-out firms.

Confidence in the U.S. job market has fallen again, with the highest number of Americans in 10 months (44%) describing the employment situation as worse than it was a year ago.  But more Americans than ever (49%) think it will hurt the nation’s economy if the federal government hires more people to compensate.  At the same time, the number of adults who feelunemployment benefits should be extended indefinitely is at an all-time low.

The recent national jobs reports caused some turmoil in the Rasmussen Consumer and Investor Indexes, and consumer confidence fell to the lowest level of 2012 last week.

Speaking of jobs, Scott Rasmussen was surprised this week by how many Americans don’t understand how much employers pay in additional taxes for each worker on their payroll. Only 54% of Americans, by the way, recognize that employers pay additional taxes on top of the wages paid to an employee.  Listen to Scott’s radio update on the subject, and catch his other updates three times Monday through Friday on a radio station in your area, courtesy of the WOR Radio Network.

Also, please look for the new TV show, “What America Thinks, with Scott Rasmussen,” debuting on September 8 on more than 50 stations, headlined by WCBS in New York and KCBS in Los Angeles.  Additionally, beginning next week, all affiliated stations will receive daily news updates from Scott to be used as part of local newscasts. (See list of stations here.)  The updates will highlight the latest polling data on current events, business topics and Election 2012.

Bill Clinton will have a prominent role at the upcoming Democratic National Convention to give a boost to President Obama’s reelection campaign, but just 32% of voters believe the former president and the current occupant of the White House hold similar views on how to fix the economy.

In July, Obama’s total Job Approval rating held steady at 47%.  This time last year, the president had an approval rating of 46%. Fifty-two percent (52%) disapproved of the president's performance in July, also showing no change from the previous month. The number who disapprove of Obama's performance has stayed in the low to mid-50s since August 2009.

Fifty percent (50%) of voters still favor repeal of Obama’s health care law, but 44% are now opposed.  That’s the highest level of opposition to repeal since the law was passed by Congress in March 2010.

While Republican Mitt Romney inched ahead of Obama nationally in the daily Presidential Tracking Poll late this week, the men remain tied in the battleground states of Colorado, Iowaand Virginia.  All three races are still rated Toss-Ups in the Rasmussen Reports Electoral College Projections.

Four years ago, President Obama became the first Democrat since 1964 to win Indiana. He looks unlikely to repeat that feat. Romney leads 51% to 35% in that state.

Romney’s announcement this morning of Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate is a bolder move than many expected, but his home state of Wisconsin is another key battleground for the presidential contenders.

While it’s true that voters nationally are unhappy with the choice between Obama and Romney, experience has shown us that asking about “Some Other Candidate” in a survey provides a more accurate view of the race than including third party candidates.

Republicans continue to hold a small lead over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot.

Read the rest of this article with links at Rasmussen