Poll: GOP must cede more than Dems

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- More than half of Americans said they think Republicans must cede more than Democrats in any bipartisan solution to major U.S. problems, a CNN poll indicated.

The survey, released Thursday, indicated 53 percent of Americans said the GOP should compromise more while 41 percent said Democrats should give up more of the proposals it supports to develop bipartisan solutions.

Americans also said they consider the Republican Party's policies and views as too extreme, and less than a third said they trusted congressional Republicans more than President Barack Obama, a Democrat, to deal with key issues facing the nation, results of the CNN-ORC indicated.

Fifty-three percent said they view the Republican Party's policies as too extreme, an increase of 17 percentage points form two years ago. Thirty-seven percent said they view polices of the Democratic Party as too extreme.

Fifty-two percent approved of the job Obama is doing in office and 34 percent approved of how House Speaker John Boehner is handling his job, results indicated.

Forty-eight percent said they would blame the GOP if the "fiscal cliff" occurs and 37 percent said they'd blame Obama. Eleven percent said both sides equally share the blame.

The survey indicated that seven in 10 Americans think the fiscal cliff will cause a crisis or major problems for the country if a solution isn't reached before Jan. 1, when tax rates and taxes are set to increase and across-the-board spending cuts are enacted.

Results are based on nationwide phone interviews with 620 adults conducted Monday and Tuesday. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.