Bush Still Takes Brunt of Blame for Economy vs. Obama. PRINCETON, NJ -- Nearly two years into his presidency, 51% of Americans say President Barack Obama bears little to no blame for U.S. economic problems, while 48% assign him a great deal or moderate amount of blame. More Americans now blame Obama than did so a year ago, but a substantially higher percentage, 71%, blame former President George W.
Bush. More specifically, the Aug. 27-30 USA Today/Gallup poll finds 24% of Americans blaming Obama a great deal for the current economic problems, 24% a moderate amount, 25% not much, and 26% not at all. By contrast, 37% blame Bush a great deal, compared with 10% assigning him no blame. Bush fares poorly on this measure partly because a relatively high proportion of Republicans -- 48% -- blame him a great deal or moderate amount, as do most Democrats (89%) and independents (73%).
By contrast, relatively few Democrats, 19%, blame Obama. Bottom Line Survey Methods Samples are weighted by gender, age, race, education, region, and phone lines. Politics - Political News & Updates. Political News, Analysis and Opinion. Politics.