FOX News Poll: Americans Disapprove of GM Takeover

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,525861,00.html

Most Americans are unhappy with the actions the federal government has
taken with General Motors, and people are uncertain about GM's future —
even with the government's help, according to a FOX News poll released
Thursday.

Considering economic conditions overall, most people say things haven't
been this bad since the Great Depression. Views are split, however, over
whether the economy is getting better or worse.

President Barack Obama continues to enjoy high job approval ratings — 62
percent of Americans approve and 31 percent disapprove. Last month 60
percent approved and 30 percent disapproved (May 12-13, 2009). Obama's
average approval since taking office is 61 percent.

Click here to read the full poll results.

For Vice President Joe Biden, 49 percent approve of his job performance,
32 percent disapprove and 19 percent are unsure.

By 58 percent to 38 percent voters across the country say they disapprove
of the government takeover and majority ownership stake in General Motors.
Majorities of Republicans (79 percent) and independents (59 percent) think
it was a bad move, as well as a sizable minority of Democrats (39
percent).

And by an 8 percentage point margin slightly more Americans think the
government should have let the market decide GM's fate (52 percent) than
believe it was in the country's best interest to save the car maker (44
percent).

A majority of Democrats (62 percent) support the government intervening in
GM, while majorities of Republicans (72 percent) and independents (54
percent) back letting market forces decide.

Does the government takeover mean GM will get back on track? When asked to
look five years down the road, about half of Americans think the company
will be profitable (22 percent) or breaking even (32 percent). Others are
more pessimistic, including about one in five (21 percent) who think GM
will be out of business, and 17 percent think it will still be losing
money.

Among Democrats, who are more likely to support the government takeover,
nearly a third think GM will either be gone (15 percent) or still showing
red ink (13 percent).

While Obama said the government won't be running GM, the poll suggests
Americans think it might not be such a bad idea. Nearly half (46 percent)
think the government should "make recommendations" about key management
decisions. Another 16 percent would go even further and have the
government make key decisions and tell the auto executives what to do. The
remaining one third (35 percent) say stay out and let the auto executives
run the company.

Opinion Dynamics Corp. conducted the national telephone poll of 900
registered voters for FOX News from June 9 to June 10. The poll has a 3-
point error margin.

Labor unions have been front and center in the government's rescue of GM —
and Chrysler as well. The largest number of Americans — 43 percent — think
labor unions have too much influence on the Obama administration, 29
percent say the right amount and 12 percent too little influence.

Economic Conditions

The public is split on how things are going today, as about equal numbers
say the economy is getting better (40 percent) as say it is getting worse
(42 percent). Even this question reveals a partisan divide: Half of
Democrats (50 percent) say things are getting better — that's almost
double the number of Republicans (27 percent) who feel the same way. A 57
percent majority of Republicans say things are getting worse. Independents
split: 41 percent better and 41 percent worse.

Similarly, when asked if the government stimulus spending is working, 46
percent of Americans say yes, while almost as many people — 39 percent —
say no. Three months ago sentiments were reversed, as 38 percent thought
government actions were working and 44 percent disagreed (3-4 March 2009).

Nearly two-thirds of Americans (65 percent) think the country is in the
worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Do the tough times make you more appreciative for what you have? You bet —
84 percent say they feel more grateful these days. Only 9 percent are
"angry" they don't have as much as they used to have.

More Have Positive Views of the IRS Than Pelosi, Cheney and GM

The president is well liked. A 64 percent majority of voters have a
favorable opinion of Obama as a person, significantly higher than the 29
percent who have a positive view of House Speaker House Nancy Pelosi and
the 34 percent who view former Vice President Dick Cheney positively.

Moreover, with a 49 percent favorable rating the Internal Revenue Service
is more popular than Pelosi and Cheney.

Among the car companies tested, Ford — which has not taken government
bailout money — has the highest favorable rating at 72 percent, followed
by Honda at 69 percent favorable. Just under half of Americans have a
positive view of General Motors (48 percent) and Chrysler (46 percent).

Kicking the Habit at the White House

The president has been trying to quit smoking but admitted he fell off the
wagon a few times during the campaign. What about now? Thirty-seven
percent think he is still sneaking cigarettes at the White House, while 30
percent think Obama has truly kicked the habit. Some 33 percent are
unsure.