Bert Atkinson Jr. | On 12, Feb 2013

On Monday, November 24, 2008, in a press conference held in Chicago, President-elect Barack Obama unmasked his plan for economic recovery, including the first draft of his economic stimulus package.  Here’s what he said:

“Not only do I want the stimulus package to deal with the immediate crisis, I want it also to lay the groundwork for long-term sustained economic growth….With our economy in distress, we cannot hesitate and we cannot delay.”

Fast-forward to today:

Last week, FoxNews asked voters to reminisce on Obama’s $800 billion dollar stimulus plan passed in 2009, asking them if it “worked and was a good use of taxpayer money, or not.” Sixty percent said it was not. In addition, 52% said the worst is yet to come when thinking about the economy.

To add to this, nearly three-fourths of voters believe the key ingredient in “[strengthening] the nation’s economy” is cutting government spending, NOT increasing it.

Spending our way out of a spending problem? Hmm…

Also, according to a Quinnipiac  poll, voters trust GOP with cutting government spending. Heading into tonight’s State of the Union address, with eighty-three percent of voters insisting government has a spending problem, President Obama clearly has some ground to make up when it comes to cutting government spending.

And, not only do voters see it as a matter of priority, but it’s a matter of trust as new data from Quinnipiac shows, by a 9 pt margin,  voters trust Republicans in Congress over Obama to do a better job “cutting federal spending.”

h/t NRCC