Zogby: Voters Will Blame Obama for Debt Default

Pollster John Zogby updates our weekly Obama Report Card with a grade on the president's performance. Zogby uses his polling, expert analysis and interaction with major players to come up with a grade and some comments that capture how he sees the president's week ending.

John Zogby on Week: 129

"Republicans and their intransigence might get most of the blame if a debt limit deal is not struck, but President Obama knows he will bear responsibility for the consequences of default. Our polling shows Obama in a tenuous position with voters that could not withstand the failure to get an agreement, and certainly not the rebound recession some fear will take place if the U.S. defaults on its debt. The swipe he took last week at Republicans for their insistence on protecting tax breaks for corporate jets was just political theater. Behind the scenes, Obama met over the July 4th weekend with House Speaker John Boehner. In his July 5 statement, Obama cited some progress and his intention to find a long-term deficit plan. To get a deal from Republicans, the president will need to give up much more than he wants in cuts, including to entitlements, and will get very little increased revenue. That will be the price of avoiding political crisis for him and economic crisis for the nation."

This week's grade: C

Last week's: C-

John Zogby is Chairman of the Board and Chief Insights Officer for IBOPE Zogby International, a non-partisan public opinion, research, and business solutions firm with experience working in more than 70 countries around the globe. IBOPE Zogby International specializes in telephone, Internet, and face-to-face survey research and analysis for corporate, political, nonprofit, and governmental clients. The firm is headquartered in Utica, N.Y. John Zogby is also the author of The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream (Random House). 

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