Obama Won't Get Budget Blame, Says Gallup

Should debt talks fail and the nation go into default in two weeks, the public is more likely to blame Congress and the Republicans than President Obama, according to Gallup Editor in Chief Frank Newport.

"The Republicans will be blamed more than the Democrats" and Obama, he said today at a Christian Science Monitor newsmaker breakfast.

Obama will get dinged by the public, he added, but he said recent polling suggests that the public is split over blaming Obama. For example, when asked in a new poll if those involved in the debt ceiling debate were putting the nation's interests or their own first, Obama broke even, while 7 of 10 Americans believe Congress is putting its own interests first.

"Everything seems to come back that Obama is very well situated," said Newport.

He added that the public is paying attention to the debate and is up on many of the dueling deficit reduction plans. "Americans are fairly well informed," he said.

• See a slide show of 6 ways to raise the debt ceiling.
• See a slide show of 6 consequences if the debt ceiling isn't raised.
• Vote now: Will there be a debt ceiling deal?

Reader Comments Read all comments (4)

Add Your Thoughts

Comment Name State Select One AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY International Email

Please enter the two words below into the text field underneath the image.

Incorrect please try again

Enter the words above: Enter the numbers you hear:

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.