[放炮] U.S. public wants cliff compromise

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U.S. public wants cliff compromise, favors Obama approach: polls
December 12, 2012, 8:51 PM
A slew of recent polls on public opinion surrounding the fiscal cliff show an eagerness to compromise and broad support for President Obama’s position in the negotiations.

Results out Wednesday from a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll showed about two-thirds of the public would support a middle position that includes Democratic demands to raise taxes on the nation’s top earners, along with Republican demands for reductions to spending on Medicare and other entitlement programs.

Allowing tax rates to rise on the wealthy was especially popular, the poll showed, with more than 3 out of 4 of the 1,000 adults surveyed supporting the idea to solve the fiscal cliff, including 61% of Republicans.

The Wall Street Journal noted a sharp shift toward the general principle of compromise among Republicans in particular, with 61% now favoring giving some ground on budget matters compared to just 38% back in April.
When the president and House Republicans were compared head-to-head, the advantage appeared to be Obama’s. Read more on WSJ/NBC poll on fiscal-cliff opinions.

A survey produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, also reported Wednesday, had 49% approving of Obama’s handling of the fiscal-cliff talks, while 42% disapproved. For Republican House Speaker John Boehner, only 25% approved, while 49% disapproved.

A Bloomberg National Poll, also covering 1,000 adults, had 64% saying Obama’s re-election gave him a mandate to protect Social Security from “substantial budget cuts” and 62% saying the same in terms of preventing “fundamental change” in Medicare.

Should the parties fail to get a deal, the Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey said slightly more people would blame the Republicans than would blame the president, although a 56% majority would blame both.