U.S. poll: Plurality worse off, blame GOP

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- A plurality of registered voters say they're not better off than four years ago, but a majority blame the economic downturn on Republicans, a poll indicates.

A CNN/ORC International poll released Thursday showed 44 percent of registered voters say they're worse off financially than in the summer of 2008, with nearly 20 percent saying their situation is the same. Just 37 percent of registered voters said they're better off than four years ago.

Nearly 70 percent of all respondents said the economy is somewhat poor or very poor, while 32 percent said the economy is somewhat or very good.

Two out of three respondents said the economy will be somewhat or very good in a year, while 30 percent said it will be somewhat or very poor.

"That's a major switch from last year, when six in 10 were pessimistic about the economy," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said.

"Since President Barack Obama's first year in office, a majority of Americans have said that former President Bush's policies were more responsible for current economic problems than Obama's policies were. That figure is at 57 percent today, with 35 percent saying the current president and Democrats are mostly to blame for economic problems," Holland said.

Likely voters were split on whether Obama or Republican challenger Mitt Romney would be better for the economy in a poll released this week, CNN said.

The CNN telephone poll was conducted by ORC International Sept. 7-9 among 875 registered voters. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.