Majority of Americans not confident government will do what needs to be done for the country

NEW YORK, Dec. 21, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Now that the election is over and the lame duck Congressional session is almost done, the time has come to look ahead to the next Congress and the work they will undertake.  Overall, Americans have some mixed feelings about the election. Two in five (39%) say they think the outcome of the recent Congressional elections is a good thing and one-quarter (26%) say the outcome is a bad thing. But, underscoring the uncertainty, one-third of Americans (34%) are not sure if the election is a good or bad thing.

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These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,331 adults surveyed online between December 6 and 13, 2010 by Harris Interactive.

There is an obvious partisan difference as to whether the election outcome was a good or bad thing. Almost half of Democrats (48%) say it was a bad thing while seven in ten Republicans (70%) say it was a good thing. While two in five Independents (40%) say it is a good thing, one-third (35%) say they are not sure.

One reason for this uncertainty may have to do with a lack of confidence. Just one-third of Americans (32%) are confident given the party difference between the White House and the House of Representatives, that the government will do what needs to be done for the country. Three in five U.S. adults (61%) are not confident. This lack of confidence goes across party lines, with Independents being most likely to say they are not confident (66%).

Working together

Looking at where the bottleneck may come, more Americans believe it will be from Republicans rather than from President Obama. Three in five U.S. adults (62%) agree that President Obama will try to work with the Republicans in Congress while three in ten (31%) say he will not. On the other hand, over half of Americans (53%) say the Republicans will not try to work with President Obama and 37% say they will.

Obviously, there are partisan differences here. Looking at Democrats, over four in five (82%) say President Obama will try to work with Republicans while two-thirds (68%) say Republicans will not try to work with the president. Republicans are of a different mindset with almost three in five (58%) saying their members in Congress will try to work with President Obama and 55% saying the president will not try to work with them.  

So What?

Americans are divided about divided government. Two in five say the concept is good (39%) but two in five also admit they are not sure if it is a good or bad thing (38%). How President Obama, the Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate and the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives work together over the next few months may cause people to decide if this is good or bad. They are already not confident things can get done so if concerns are addressed and legislation moves forward, Americans may feel better about divided government.

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between December 6 to 13, 2010 among 2,331 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

J39118

Q1220, 1225, 1230, 1235, 1245

The Harris Poll® #155, December 21, 2010

By Regina A. Corso, SVP, Harris Poll, Public Relations and Youth Research, Harris Interactive

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

SOURCE Harris Interactive

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