By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
President Obama may have bigger problems on his hands than reforming healthcare. For the first time, the Washington Whispers poll tested the public's appetite for continuing the Bush tax cuts, which start expiring next year, and it topped healthcare reform as the No. 1 idea that could help Obama reclaim his presidency. Over one third of those in the poll from Synovate eNation said keeping the tax rate low will help the president, just edging out his top priority at 33 percent: doing whatever it takes to reform healthcare. But continuing the cuts doesn't seem likely, since he campaigned against them and ridiculed them in his recent healthcare speech to Congress. The findings in our poll are similar to others recently that show Americans eager to keep taxes low while they wait out the recession.
Pollsters say that President Obama is on the verge of losing control of his presidency. What should he do to get it back on track?
| Continue the expiring Bush tax cuts | 35% |
|---|---|
| Whatever it takes to pass healthcare reform | 33% |
| Propose another major stimulus spending package | 17% |
| Immediately withdraw all troops from Iraq | 15% |
Source: The Synovate eNation Internet poll was conducted September 4-9 among 1,000 nationally representative households by global market research firm Synovate.
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