Poll: 90 percent in U.S. say economy bad
WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Nine out of 10 U.S. residents describe economic conditions as poor and just over half blame Republicans, a CNN poll released Friday indicated.
The number of people who say the economy is in the doghouse has grown since a similar poll in June, CNNMoney reported. Three months ago, 81 percent described the economy as poor.
The poll conducted by ORC International for CNN found 52 percent blaming President George W. Bush's administration, while 32 percent say President Obama and the Democratic Party are to blame.
ORC also asked respondents about Ben Bernanke, who was appointed chairman of the Federal Reserve by Bush and reappointed by Obama, and billionaire Warren Buffett, who has become an advocate for higher taxes for the rich.
Only 42 percent said they knew enough about Bernanke to have an opinion, and only 25 percent view him favorably. Bernanke and the Fed have been attacked recently by many Republican presidential candidates.
Buffett has more fans with 43 percent saying they view him favorably, 33 percent with no opinion and 24 percent who do not like him. Both Bernanke and Buffett are more popular with Democrats than Republicans.
ORC interviewed 1,010 adults by telephone Sept. 23-25. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.
Buffett says 'Buffett rule' not his plan
WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Billionaire investment guru Warren Buffett says he does not agree with President Obama's proposal to raise taxes on millionaires.
Buffett says he advocated a tax hike only on what he termed the "ultra-rich," distancing his remarks from Obama's proposal to raise taxes on millionaires, The Hill reported.
The president has called for higher tax rates on millionaires as part of his proposed deficit-reduction plan, dubbing it the "Buffett rule" in a nod to Buffett's call for higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
But Buffett says his plan was not the "Buffett rule."
"It isn't [my idea] to have the rich pay more taxes. It's to have the ultra-rich pay more," he said Friday.
"There's all kinds of ultra-rich who pay normal taxes, but there is a small segment -- but you can find them very easily -- who pay very low taxes, including me," Buffett said.
"People who make money with money only pay very low taxes at very high levels of income. ... What I'm talking about would probably apply to 50,000 people out of 310 million in the country."
Buffett said he considered Obama's bill a "stimulus plan" and doubted he would agree with all of it.
First lady: 2012 to determine 'who we are'
PORTLAND, Maine, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- First lady Michelle Obama told an audience in Maine Friday the 2012 election "will determine nothing less than who we are as a country."
Speaking at a political fundraiser in Portland, the first lady said a Republican victory in 2012 will hurt working families.
"Whether it's healthcare or the economy or education or foreign policy, the choice we make in this election will determine nothing less than who we are as a country and who we want to be," she said.
About 650 people paid at least $100 apiece to attend the rally where Obama spoke.
Earlier Friday, at a fundraiser held in a private home in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, the first lady said "we stand at a fundamental crossroads in our country."
"You're here because you know that in 13 months we're going to make a choice that will impact our lives for decades to come," she said.
"So many of us, we just don't have the time to follow the news and sort through all the back and forth and figure out how all of this connects to our daily lives," she said. "But the fact is that in a little over a year from now, we are going to make a decision between two very different visions for this country."
The first lady urged her audience to support the American Jobs Act, sent to Congress by President Barack Obama, which she said would affect millions of families and children "in terms of how much food they can put on the table, whether they have a roof over their heads. It's about whether folks will have more money in their pockets, which means more money in our economy, which means more jobs."
Group wants Thomas ethics investigated
WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- A group of 20 Democrats in Congress want the U.S. Justice Department to investigate whether Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas violated ethics rules.
The legislators requested an investigation in a letter Thursday to the Judicial Conference, The Hill reported. They say Thomas didn't reveal in disclosure forms his wife's income from groups opposed to U.S. President Barack Obama's healthcare law.
Actions by the Obama administration and 26 states that want the law overturned may have the U.S. Supreme Court hearing the case in the upcoming term. That would most likely mean a decision during next year's presidential campaign.
A group of Democrats in February requested that Thomas take himself off the case. U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, made the same request of Justice Elena Kagan, who was Obama's solicitor general when the law was being written.
Many recent controversial cases have been decided by 5-4 votes with Justice Anthony Kennedy siding sometimes with the conservative bloc and sometimes with the liberals.
