Gallup: Jobs and the economy a much bigger concern than deficits

In a post this morning about national satisfaction inching up (but still low), Gallup has an important point to make about the relative importance of jobs and the economy vs. the deficit:

Economic Concerns Continue to Be Cited as Most Important Problem

Americans' economic angst is likely a major reason for their lower satisfaction with national conditions. Gallup's monthly update on the most important problem facing the country finds 66% mentioning some economic issue, though that percentage remains a bit lower than what Gallup measured as recently as November (76%).

The health of the economy in general (31%) and jobs or unemployment (26%) continue to rank as the top two specific issues Americans most often cite. Dissatisfaction with government is next, at 15%. The only other issues to receive at least 5% mention are the federal budget deficit and healthcare.

This was especially interesting because of the exit poll findings last night out of New Hampshire:

Note that the Republican voters favored deficit reduction 60 to 40 over job creation. They lost because they divided their vote (Romney, especially, and Huntsman won the job creation vote), but even had they united behind a single candidate and won, they'd still be out of touch with the rest of America.

Fancy that.