Washington, Aug.11 (ANI): A new Washington Post poll has underscored the damage done to President Obama and to both political parties by the long standoff over the debt ceiling and the weakened economy.
With a double-dip recession now looming and the stock market buffeted by its steepest declines since the collapse in late 2008, the findings add another layer of pessimism to a gloomy summer.
Anger at Washington has been growing for some time, but the latest political battle has resulted in an intensification of the discontent.
A majority of Americans surveyed said they oppose the recent debt-ceiling compromise, which calls for slicing about two trillion dollars from the deficit over the next decade.
The highest and strongest opposition comes from Republicans, but a majority of independents also oppose the deal, according to the poll. Democrats are evenly divided on the matter.
But that judgment only hints at the dissatisfaction aimed at political leaders in Washington, who must specify in excess of a trillion dollars more in deficit reduction by later this fall or trigger across-the-board cuts in defense and non-defense spending.
Nearly three-quarters of Americans polled said they have little or no confidence in Washington to repair the economy.
Confidence is down 21 percentage points from October 2010 and is less than half its 2002 levels.
Roughly four in 10 have no confidence at all in the federal government when it comes to dealing with the economy, the poll indicates.
The number of people who expressed no confidence at all, has nearly doubled since October 2010.
Almost half of independents said "none" when asked about their confidence, more than double the proportion saying so last fall.
Nearly eight in 10 of Americans polled were dissatisfied with the way the political system is working, up dramatically from late 2009.
The unhappiness is intense, with 45 percent saying they are very dissatisfied. That feeling is shared widely across party lines. Independents are the most disgruntled, with 51 percent calling themselves very dissatisfied.
More than seven in 10 said Washington is focused on the "wrong things." That too is sharply higher than it was just 10 months ago.
Half the country agrees with the assessment of the nation's financial situation rendered by Standard and Poor's, which downgraded the U.S. credit rating for the first time in history.
The poll suggests that the decision by S and P has had a powerful ripple effect, with 80 percent saying they had heard about the downgrading, and 45 percent saying they had heard "a lot" about it.
The decline in confidence has potentially profound implications for coming elections, although the anger appears directed evenly between the two parties.
Among those who said Washington is focused on the wrong issues, 30 percent blamed Obama and Democrats, 30 percent blamed Republicans and 32 percent blamed both sides equally. (ANI)
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