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Administration's campaign-style stumping seems to have boosted support for stimulus plan
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When his economic stimulus package began running into trouble last week, President Obama adjusted strategy and went back on the road to take his pitch to the public. He held a town hall meeting in Elkhart, Ind., on Monday, and one in Fort Myers, Fla., on Tuesday. The president is scheduled to make a stop tomorrow in Peoria, Ill.
He held his first prime-time news conference Monday, and it was devoted largely to explaining and defending the bill.
Gallup A new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll indicates the tactics are working. In a survey taken Tuesday, 59% of Americans said they want Congress to pass the package; 33% opposed it. That's a 7 percentage point jump in support over six days. In a similar USA TODAY/Gallup Poll on Feb. 4, 52% supported it; 38% were against it. (Click on Gallup's chart, above, to enlarge.)
The poll results come just as House and Senate negotiators have reached agreement on what they say is a $789 billion version of the stimulus plan, which they hope to have on the president's desk within days.
The new poll of 1,021 adults, who were reached on land lines and cellphones, has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
Gallup writes about the poll results here. |
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