Bloomberg Buries the 'Bama Lead

“The public view of the economy is at odds with the facts, and the blame has to go to the Democrats…It does not matter much if you make change, if you do not communicate change.”

– Ann Selzer, Selzer & Co.

There was an article on Bloomberg this week documenting a survey taken about President Obama‘s achievements and the public’s awareness of them.  The conclusion, according to the surveyors, is that the Dems have done a terrible job of tooting their own horns…

The Obama administration cut taxes for middle-class Americans, expects to make a profit on the hundreds of billions of dollars spent to rescue Wall Street banks and has overseen an economy that has grown for the past five quarters.

Most voters don’t believe it.

A Bloomberg National Poll conducted Oct. 24-26 finds that by a two-to-one margin, likely voters in the Nov. 2 midterm elections think taxes have gone up, the economy has shrunk, and the billions lent to banks as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program won’t be recovered.

Fascinating.  Except that Bloomberg’s headline (and the article beneath it) commits the cardinal journalism sin of burying the lead:

Poll: Americans Don’t Know Economy Expanded With Tax Cuts

Fine, but the real story is:

Americans Don’t Feel the Economy Expanded With Tax Cuts

And that makes all the difference.  There are pockets of strength and pockets of outsized weakness, but in general, the mood of the country and disposition of most business owners is that things have not improved.  People are damn well aware that the unemployment rate (9.6%) has not ameliorated and they certainly aren’t feeling the effects growing GDP or middle class tax cuts.

Folks aren’t interested in the government statistics until they feel the changes themselves.  Anything less than that is a failure to these people.  This partially explains the desertion of Obama by some of his base, the Democratic candidates skewing Blue Dog and the deafening rhetoric coming from the lunatic fringe.

Too soon?  We’re not being patient enough?  We shouldn’t expect the largest economy on earth to turn on an 18-month dime?  OK, that could be the case.  But it’s not me you need to convince.

Tell that to the voters, as the pendulum swings from one extreme to the other this Tuesday.

Source:

Poll: Americans Don’t Know the Economy Expanded With Tax Cuts (Bloomberg)