Gallup (my bold):
These results, from a Gallup poll conducted Nov. 4-7, 2010, mark the first time since April that mentions of jobs/unemployment have outpaced mentions of the economy in general when Americans are asked to name the top problem facing the nation. The employment situation and economic conditions have been the two most frequently mentioned problems in Gallup's monthly updates all year, generally followed by healthcare and dissatisfaction with government. Americans' concern about natural disasters flared up in the summer months as the BP oil spill dominated the news, but quickly faded.

Be it pandemic or oil spill, transient worries don't match every day concerns, and that goes for the deficit at 9%. In fact, the deficit was only 4% in a recent CBS poll of things Americans want Congress to tackle. What was first? Economy/jobs at 56%.
So lets talk about what needs to be done now (jobs), not what out-of-touch Washington thinks should be tackled (the deficit can wait until after the recession.) That's what we are doing, right?