Poll: 16% of Americans Say They Are Better off Since Obama Took Office; Nearly Double Say "Worse"

In an unsurprising turn of events, a new poll released today shows that a mere 16% of American believe that are better off under the Presidency of Barack Obama than they were before it. The poll, performed by ABC News and the Washington Post, focused mainly on the economy.

Nearly twice as many people, 30%, said that they were worse off under the President. A slight majority, 53%, stated that they were "about the same" as before January 2009. The difference between the numbers is a clear demonstration of why the majority of Americans disapprove of the way Mr. Obama has handled the economy by a 55-42% margin; progress and economic advancement, two American trademarks, are missing during the Obama Presidency.

The poll also asked voters to speculate over whether a Romney Presidency would have resulted in a better economic situation. Nineteen percent of voters, or three percent more than Mr. Obama, thought they would be doing better. Twenty-two percent, or eight percent less than Mr. Obama, believed that they would be doing worse. A plurality of 48% stated that they would probably be doing about the same.

The poll released this graph to summarize their findings:

Source

Despite these findings, however, the poll reports that a plurality of Americans still prefer an Obama Presidency over a Romney Presidency. 49% of people in the poll stated that they would vote for Barack Obama if the general election were held today while 46% reported that they would vote for Mitt Romney.

However, 78% of those who consider themselves worse off since Obama took office would vote for Mitt Romney. 78% of voters, according to the poll, who are better off since Obama took office would vote to reelect him.

Near the end of the poll, in detailing other questions asked to participants, 56% of respondents also stated that, when compared to regulation, the United States' economic system "favors the wealthy" and is "unfair." Only 34% of those in the poll, a 22% difference, believed over-regulation was a bigger problem than income and distribution inequality.

A plurality of respondents, 47%, believe that Mr. Obama represents their personal values better than Mr. Romney. Whether these two questions mentioned skews the results of the poll is up to you.

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