These poll numbers were released earlier today by Rasmussen Reports -- "an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information."
42% Say Government Would Have Done Worse Job Than BP Responding To Oil Leak
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
BP has replaced its CEO as fallout from the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico continues, but 42% believe the government would have done a worse job responding to the leak if it has been in charge of the oil company.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 23% think the government would have done a better job if it had been running the oil giant responsible for both the leak and the subsequent efforts to cap it. Twenty-nine percent (29%) say the response would have been about the same.
Nearly two-out-of-three voters (64%) continue to oppose nationalizing all the oil companies and running them on a non-profit basis. Opposition to nationalization is little changed since May , but it's up 17 points from two years ago .
Just 17% now think nationalization of the oil industry is a good idea, but 19% more are not sure.
Nearly half (49%) of Democratic voters like the idea of nationalizing the oil industry. Eighty-one percent (81%) of Republicans and 65% of voters not affiliated with either party think nationalization is a bad idea.
The survey of 1,000 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on July 26-27, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC . See methodology .
Voters by a two-to-one margin believe that private companies are more likely than a government research program to solve the nation's energy problems. Sixty percent (60%) have more confidence in private companies, while 29% think the government is more likely to find the answer.
This, too, is up from June 2008 when 47% said private companies were more likely to solve the country's energy problems, but 30% felt the government would do better.
Voters are a little less critical this month of both the president and the oil companies involved for their handling of the three-month-old oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Still, 41% say the president has done a poor job, and 44% say the same of BP and Transocean. Thirty-seven percent (37%) give the president good or excellent marks while just 16% say the same of the companies.
Those ages 50 and older are more likely than younger voters to say the government would have done a worse job responding to the leak.
There's no question in the minds of the Political Class , however. While 75% of Mainstream voters have more confidence in private companies, 60% of the Political Class think a government research program is more likely to solve America's energy problems.
Fifty-four percent (54%) of Political Class voters also believe the government would have done a better job handling the oil leak, but 57% of Mainstream voters think the government's response would have been worse.
Seventy-one percent (71%) of voters rate the government's response to the Gulf oil leak as at least somewhat important in terms of how they will vote in November , with just 35% who say it is Very Important. That falls well below the 85% who say the economy is a Very Important voting issue. In fact, the importance of the oil spill falls below that of all ten issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports .
Most Americans continue to be concerned about the overall economic impact of the Gulf oil leak , but they're less worried about gas prices rising at the pump.
Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters believe offshore oil drilling should still be allowed , while a plurality (47%) support deepwater drilling, too, even though the latter is the cause of the Gulf disaster.