Just 40% Pleased With Election Outcome; 49% Say Let Tax Cuts For Rich Expire

As conservatives pump themselves up with the myth that the 2010 elections are either a mandate for them or a repudiation of liberalism, a CBS poll shows a majority of Americans are either disappointed with the election results or just don’t care.

While 40 percent do say they are pleased by the election outcome, that’s a significantly smaller percentage than the 58 percent who were pleased following the 2006 midterm elections.

Americans also don’t expect much from those they elected: Forty-one percent predict fewer accomplishments than usual from the new Congress. The percentage who expect more to get done than usual is down from 47 percent after the 2006 midterms to 39 percent today.

The poll shows that 49% want tax cuts for the rich to expire, while 44% say keep the cuts and 7% say they don’t know. And, before Republicans expend their political capital on repealing health care reform, they might take note that just 14% believe that should be a priority, with 56% saying the focus should be on jobs and the economy.

And therein lies the risk for Republicans. Democrats appear to have suffered at the polls because of their decision to focus on health care at a time when the economy was suffering; in a CBS News poll in July, nearly four in ten Americans said the president had spent too much time on health care. In the same poll, more than half said he had spent too little time on the economy.

If Republicans want to avoid a similar criticism, they can’t be seen as focusing on health care at the expense of addressing the economy. That’s because while many Americans (and most Republicans) are in favor of repeal, relatively few believe health care should be the new Congress’ top priority.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.