Shock Poll: Americans Want Less Government, Less Spending

I say it's a shock because at the rate Obama is spending us into oblivion, you would think the American people are OK with it. Apparently they're not. Although this will not be reported outside of Fox News since it's their poll. The rest of the media will pretend people voted for bankruptcy.

Now if the Republicans have the brains to focus on a coherent message the results of this poll can help formulate a strategy for 2010. They can start by luring the independent vote.

The Obama administration consistently uses the word "invest" or "investment" instead of government "spending." Even so, most Americans don't make the distinction as fully 78 percent say it means spending their tax dollars, not saving them.

In addition, 54 percent of voters think the Obama administration is proposing too much of an increase in government spending, while 6 percent say not enough. About a third -- 35 percent -- says the spending is "about right."

A majority of Democrats (61 percent) think the president's proposed spending is about right, while majorities of Republicans (85 percent) and independents (61 percent) think there is too much of an increase.

The flip side of government spending is budget cuts, and the poll finds 6 in 10 think President Obama is not cutting enough waste from government, including 84 percent of Republicans, 66 percent of independents and 38 percent of Democrats.

These are just some of the findings from a FOX News poll released Friday.

Given Obama's criticism of the Bush administration deficits during the presidential campaign, some 28 percent of Americans say they are surprised Obama is increasing the nation's deficit. More than twice as many -- 68 percent -- are not surprised.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell recently made news by saying that Americans "want more government in their life." Americans disagree. Most -- 71 percent -- say they want less government in their life. A much smaller number (17 percent) fall in the category described by Powell.

Hmm. I guess more people agree with Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney than agree with Colin Powell.