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."
Most Voters Think President Obama is More Liberal Than They Are
Sunday, July 10, 2011
As they have consistently, voters continue to believe that President Obama is more liberal than they are, though that number has reached a new low.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 52% of Likely U.S. Voters think President Obama is more liberal than they are. In early June , 54% felt the president was more liberal than they are. Prior to the latest survey, the number of voters who feel this way has ranged from 54% to 61%. (To see survey question wording, click here .)
Just 15% feel the president is politically more conservative than they are, the highest level measured to date. Twenty-six percent (26%) believe the president's ideology is about the same as their own.
Eighty-three percent (83%) of Republicans think the president is more liberal than they are. Among Democrats, a plurality (49%) say they share a similar ideology to the president, 26% say he is more conservative than they are, and 20% say he is more liberal. A majority (55%) of voters not affiliated with either major political party believe the president is more liberal than they are.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on July 5, 2011 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 .
Sixty-two percent (62%) of Political Class voters say they share the same ideology as President Obama, while 60% of mainstream voters say he is more liberal than they are.
For the second month in a row, slightly more voters describe the Republican agenda in Congress as being more extreme than mainstream . Voters have consistently felt this way about the agenda of congressional Democrats. And they don't believe that members of Congress share their political ideology, either.
A plurality of voters also thinks the average reporter is more liberal than they are .
Voters remain more conservative when it comes to money than they are on social policy, but 29% still say they are conservative in both areas.
Nearly half of U.S. voters give President Obama poor marks for his handling of the economy , but he continues to earn higher respect for his performance in the area of national security.