Outside of D.C., Americans want their leaders
to focus on jobs and the economy
New York Times/CBS. 9/10-15. Adults. MoE ±3% (6/11 results):
What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today? [open-ended]
Jobs: 32 (26)
Economy: 27 (27)
Budget deficit: 8 (7)
The interesting thing about this poll is that survey respondents were allowed to give an open-ended answer, so the pollster didn't influence the results at all by only offering a certain range of potential answers. Despite that, a remarkable 59 percent of the public believes jobs or the economy is the top problem facing the country.
The budget deficit is a distant third, and the remaining one-third of the public split their answers across 24 different problem areas, ranging from "abortion" to "health care" to "war." 14 percent gave an answer categorized as "other" but of the remaining specific categories, none had more than 3 percent.
This gives a sense of just how out of touch Washington, D.C. was this summer when it obsessed over the deficit instead of working to create jobs—and how out of touch Republicans continue to be when they refuse to take action on job creation. It also is a reminder that however strong the components are of President Obama's fiscal plan, he needs to keep spending his time focused on his jobs plan.