Parties differ on views of compromise

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Compromise is in the eye of the beholder and U.S. political leaders' views don't necessarily jibe with the American public's opinion, Gallup said Wednesday.

Results of the Gallup-USA Today poll indicate American generally think political leaders must compromise to get things done instead of sticking to their beliefs, 47 percent to 27 percent. Come January Republicans will take over the House leadership and have a larger minority in the Senate.

However, Republicans lean more toward saying lawmakers should be true to their beliefs than compromise, 41 percent to 32 percent, while Democrats more widely embrace compromise, 59 percent to 18 percent, the Princeton, N.J, polling agency said.

Sixty-four percent of Americans told Gallup they think President Obama will make a sincere effort to work with Republicans, compared to 43 percent who said they thought Republicans would try to work with the president and congressional Democrats.

The outcome of the 2012 presidential election may hinge on how well the executive and legislative branches work together to resolve the nation's problems for the next two years, Gallup said. The results indicate this could be problematic for congressional Republicans since many of the new members campaigned on holding fast to their core beliefs of limited government.

Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews conducted with 1,021 adults Nov. 4-7. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.