www.upi.

com UPIpoll Release

US Elections 2012

UPI/CVoter Release: 4

Issues of Overall Economic Crisis: 2

Embargo: September 13th

www.upi.com UPIpoll Release

US Elections 2012

OBAMA WEAK ON ECONOMY, FAILS TO SELL STIMULUS

Romney has edge among confirmed voters on economy Housing mortgage, Wall Street/banks major issues
Stimulus-driven bailouts of big corporations were :

Can't say Confirmed Voters Likely Voters 14% 30%

Necessary as they helped re- Wrong because they vive the economy wasted public funds 32% 28% 54% 42%

Total 100% 100%

How important is the issue of proper functioning of the Wall Street/Banks?

Can't Say/No opinion Confirmed Voters Likely Voters 3% 10%

Extremely Im- Somewhat Im- Not Important at Total portant portant all 62% 50% 32% 31% 3% 10% 100% 100%

Who can handle the issue of proper functioning of the Wall Street/Banks, Obama or Romney?

Can't Say/No opinion Confirmed Voters 11%

Obama

Romney

Both of them are Neither of them Total equally good at this can handle this 8% 16% 100%

30%

35%

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US Elections 2012

Likely Voters

32%

25%

15%

10%

19%

100%

How important is the issue of Home/Housing Mortgage Crisis?

Can't Say/No opinion Confirmed Voters Likely Voters 2% 2%

Extremely Impor- Somewhat tant Important 64% 67% 31% 26%

Not Important Total at all 3% 5% 100% 100%

Who can handle the issue of proper functioning of Home/Housing Mortgage Crisis, Obama or Romney?

Can't Say/No opinion Confirmed Voters Likely Voters 9% 23%

Obama

Romney

Both of them Neither of are equally them can han- Total good at this dle this 9% 10% 15% 18% 100% 100%

32% 30%

35% 20%

(Base: 1003 respondents; those who said they are sure or somewhat sure to vote; may or may not have decided which candidate to support. Data is weighted to known census profile)

www.upi.com UPIpoll Release

US Elections 2012

Analysis
President Obama faces an uphill task in convincing confirmed voters ahead of the November 6 ballot that his economic performance has been mostly good under the circumstances. Fewer confirmed voters back Obama than those who back the Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, as the one who can better deal with two contentious issues of the economic crisis: the housing mortgage crisis and oversight of the financial sector, specifically Wall Street and the banks. The perception among likely voters, who are considered typically to include more of those who are low-income and ethnically diverse and thus lean towards Democratic Party, is reversed, with more backing Obama than Romney on the economy. Alarmingly for Obama, a majority of confirmed voters (54%) as well as a high number of likely voters (42%) say the billions of dollars that the Obama administration has injected into banks and big corporations since 2009 were a waste of public money. Among confirmed voters, only 28% say the bailouts were necessary and revived the economy. The figure is slightly better among likely voters at 32%. Asked who can better handle the proper functioning of the Wall Street and the banking sector, confirmed voters prefer Romney over Obama by 35% to 30%. Among likely voters the vote is reversed: Obama carries more faith by 25% to 15%. A similar trend is available when voters are asked who can handle the housing mortgage crisis better. Confirmed voters give Romney a slight edge over Obama by 35% to 32%. But likely voters reverse the edge for Obama by 30% to 20%. The survey also confirms that American citizens continue to be concerned about key features of the economic collapse of 2008. A huge 62% of confirmed voters say that the issue of proper functioning of the Wall Street and the banks, whose failure played a major role in the economic collapse four years ago, was an extremely important issue. Some 32% say it is a somewhat important issue. Among likely voters, the figures are 50% (extremely important) and 31% (somewhat important). The housing mortgage crisis that saw millions of homes repossessed continues to be a sore point with the voters. As many as 64% confirmed voters say it is a extremely important issue, whereas 31% say it is a somewhat important issue. Among likely voters, the figures are 67% (extremely important) and 26% (somewhat important).

UPI Poll Methodology

www.upi.com UPIpoll Release

US Elections 2012

The figures are result of the question "Who will you vote for if the presidential election were held today? Would you say Yes, for sure or May be, but I am unsure at the moment or you are sure not to vote at all. The question was asked to all registered voters and analysed after screening only for the respondents who confirmed that they will vote or showed likeliness to vote in the coming elections. Those respondents who are confirmed to vote but undecided on which candidate to support are analysed as undecided. Each two-week rolling average is based on telephone interviews with approximately 3000 registered voters. Results from September 3rd through September 9th are based on seven day rolling averages with approximately 1400 registered voters each; Margin of error is 3 percentage points. The table totals sometimes might end up 99.9% or 100.1% due to rounding up of data by Computer.