September 15, 2011 07:38 PM UTC

Republicans Making Mistake With Deficit, Spending Obsession

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: House Speaker John Boehner reaffirms the GOP stance with this eloquent statement:

“When it comes to producing savings to reach its $1.5 trillion deficit reduction target, the Joint Select Committee has only one option: spending cuts and entitlement reform.”

Yes, that’s two things, but you see how well your brain functions when its covered in orange spray tan. This reminds us of one of our all-time favorite quotes, from sports agent Paul Collier in reference to a client of his: “Eddie Robinson is about one word: winning and losing.”

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Interesting rundown of recent polling numbers today from our friends at “The Fix” showing that President Obama may actually have the upper hand in the debate over the economy:

Two new polls show more Americans like the president’s jobs plan than dislike it. A CNN/Opinion Research poll shows 43 percent favor Obama’s jobs plan, while 35 percent oppose it. And Gallup shows an even wider gap, with 45 percent in favor and 32 percent opposed.

With less than majority support, it’s hardly a resounding affirmation of the president’s policies, and much has yet to play out. But the numbers do show that the American people haven’t written off the president’s economic ideas, even as the economy has tanked. In fact, multiple data points suggest the president could have the upper hand to start out with.

The CNN poll shows more people trust Obama (46 percent) than Republicans (37 percent) to deal with the economy. And it also shows Americans think job creation (65 percent) is more pressing than cutting the deficit (29 percent).

A Bloomberg poll also shows people prioritize “unemployment and jobs” (46 percent) over government spending (18 percent) and the deficit (12 percent)…

…The GOP still isn’t held in as high a regard on the economy, and it appears more focused on an issue – the budget – that voters say is a lower priority. Obama, by contrast, is the one people trust more, and his White House has been focused like a laser on the people’s clear top priority, jobs, for a while now. [Pols emphasis]

We’re not at all surprised to see these numbers, but the key is whether or not the Democrats get their ducks in a row enough to start messaging things better. Republicans have dominated the economic debate with their insistence on focusing on the deficit and government spending — but people don’t care about that in the absence of a plan to create jobs. This isn’t quite a mandate for Democrats, but they’ve certainly got an opportunity to push the GOP aside where the economy is concerned.