Washington:
US President Barack Obama continues to benefit from a broadly held perception that others should bear the bulk of responsibility for the severe economic problems that confront his administration, a new survey has revealed.
Only about a quarter of Americans blame the president and his team for an economy that's in the ditch, the new survey by Washington Post-ABC News said.
When it comes to assessing responsibility for the nation's economic plight, 80 per cent said they put a "great deal" or a "good amount" of blame on banks and other financial institutions for taking unnecessary risks.
The same percentage said they blame large corporations for poor management decisions. About seven in 10 blame consumers for overextending themselves with debt and the Bush administration for not vigorously regulating the financial industry.
The findings suggest that the public continues to give Obama considerable latitude as he attempts to jump-start the economy, but public patience may be limited.
The percentage of Americans in the new poll who said the country is on the right track still stands at 42 per cent, which is the highest percentage saying so in five years and marks a sharp turnabout from last fall, when as many as nine in 10 said the country was heading in the wrong direction.
Only about a quarter of Americans blame the president and his team for an economy that's in the ditch, the new survey by Washington Post-ABC News said.
When it comes to assessing responsibility for the nation's economic plight, 80 per cent said they put a "great deal" or a "good amount" of blame on banks and other financial institutions for taking unnecessary risks.
The same percentage said they blame large corporations for poor management decisions. About seven in 10 blame consumers for overextending themselves with debt and the Bush administration for not vigorously regulating the financial industry.
The findings suggest that the public continues to give Obama considerable latitude as he attempts to jump-start the economy, but public patience may be limited.
The percentage of Americans in the new poll who said the country is on the right track still stands at 42 per cent, which is the highest percentage saying so in five years and marks a sharp turnabout from last fall, when as many as nine in 10 said the country was heading in the wrong direction.
