Rasmussen…
What
They Told Us:
Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls
Saturday, September 08,
2012
What
a way to end a
convention. By most accounts, Democrats had a highly successful
national
convention in Charlotte, but Friday’s jobs report put a sour finish to
a week
President Obama’s party hoped would put him on the road to reelection.
While
the results seemed to
surprise many economic forecasters, American workers saw it coming. The
Rasmussen Employment Index fell nine points in August to 72.0, the
lowest level
of confidence since October 2011. Worker confidence in the labor market
is now
roughly the same as it was in the month following the Wall Street
meltdown in
the fall of 2008. This is the second straight month that the number
reporting
layoffs topped the number reporting hiring. Prior to that, there had
been eight
straight months with more hiring than layoffs reported.
Concern
about job security
is rising. Twenty-nine percent (29%) of workers are worried about
losing their
jobs, up four points from a month ago and the highest level of concern
measured
in 10 months. Just 62% of workers believe it will be their choice when
they
change jobs. That’s down 12 points from July and down 19 points from
May.
Despite
the convention
hoopla and the effusive media coverage, “the reality the political
pundits too
often miss is that what happens in the economy matters more than what
happens
in the campaigns,” Scott Rasmussen reminds us in his latest weekly
syndicated
column.
Scott
explores the impact
of the economy on the presidential race with Democratic strategist
Michael
Murphy and Bill Kristol of The Weekly Standard on “What America Thinks,
with
Scott Rasmussen.” Other guests looked at the health care issue and
whether or
not it makes sense to withdraw troops from Western Europe. The show
debuts this
weekend on over 60 television stations nationwide. Check the list of
stations
here.
Now
there’s concern about
wage stagnation, too. Just (40%) think they will be earning more money
a year
from now than they are today, but 46% now believe their earnings will
be about
the same. It’s the first time since January that working Americans have
thought
what they earn is more likely to stay the same over the next year
rather than
go up.
The
Rasmussen Consumer and
Investor Indexes don’t offer much relief either. Just 21% of consumers
report
their personal finances are getting better these days, while 49% say
they are
getting worse. Among investors, 26% say their finances are getting
better, but
47% say their finances are getting worse. However, all of these numbers
may
shift following the jobs report.
As
for the retirement
picture, while most voters continue to regard Social Security
favorably, only
40% are even somewhat confident that the government retirement system
will pay
them all their promised benefits in their lifetime.
Only half believe Social Security is a
good
deal for working Americans today.
Former
President Bill
Clinton brought his considerable speaking skills to the Democratic
National
Convention podium Wednesday night to argue that Obama has the nation on
the
right economic course. But there is a huge partisan divide over whether
Clinton
and Obama actually agree on what’s best for the economy.
Obama
continues to earn
positive marks for leadership from nearly half the nation’s voters, but
there’s
a wide partisan difference of opinion on this question as well. It’s
important
to note, however, that these attitudes were measured prior to his
prime-time
speech Thursday night to the Democratic convention.
For
the full month of
August, the president's Job Approval rating moved up a point to 48%
from 47% in
July. That number has remained fairly steady for nearly three years. If
the
election were held today, the president's overall Job Approval number
is a good
indicator of what percentage of the vote he would earn.
Republican
presidential
nominee Mitt Romney received a modest bounce following the GOP’s
national
convention two weeks ago and has led Obama in both the daily
Presidential
Tracking Poll and our daily Swing State tracking for several days now.
But the
president has already started to get a bounce of his own from the
Democratic
convention.
Economic
issues were front
and center at the Republican convention, while Democrats were happy to
let social
issues share the stage. Scott Rasmussen explains why in a new radio
update.
(Listen to Scott’s radio updates three times daily Monday through
Friday on a
radio station in your area, courtesy of the WOR Radio Network.)
Clint
Eastwood delivered
one of the most unusual convention speeches in recent memory at the
Republican
gathering, and America’s Political Class didn’t know what to make of
it. But
most Republicans and voters not affiliated with either major party
still view
the 82-year old movie icon favorably, while Democrats now offer mixed
reviews.
After
falling for two
straight months, the number of Americans who consider themselves
Republicans
has jumped to the highest level ever recorded by Rasmussen Report since
monthly
tracking began in November 2002. During August, 37.6% of Americans
considered
themselves Republicans. The number of Democrats slipped to 33.3% from
34.0% in
June and July. Those who say they are not affiliated with either major
political party fell to 29.2% last month, the smallest number of
unaffiliated
voters since 2009.
Republicans
again lead
Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot after the two were tied
the week
before for the first time since November. Republicans have consistently
held a
modest advantage on the ballot since June 2009.
Senate
Majority Leader
Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi continue to be the
most
disliked leaders of Congress, but none of the top congressional leaders
earns
high positive reviews from voters.
Read
the rest of the article,
with links, at Rasmussen
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