Poll finds most voters blame Bush more than Obama for country’s recession

A new poll released Monday found voters were twice as likely to blame President George W. Bush, rather than President Obama, for the nation’s economic problems.

When asked whether Bush or Obama was responsible for the recession, 53 percent of likely voters said Bush and 26 percent said Obama, according to the poll from Third Way, a think tank with close ties to centrist Democrats. Another 21 percent of respondents said they didn’t know.

Benenson Strategy Group conducted the survey from June 19-22.

The poll results show why Democrats have turned to attacking Bush ahead of the midterm elections. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.) and Sen. Robert Menendez (N.J.), who are leading the Democratic campaign efforts in their respective chambers, used an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday to argue that Bush’s economic policies led to job losses and more debt.