The White House may view the last 18 months as historic, racking up a legislative scorecard that includes a $787 billion stimulus package and an overhaul of the health care system.
A majority of women, however, see it as a failure, according to a new poll conducted by Kellyanne Conway for The Kitchen Cabinet, a conservative women’s group.
The findings point to the divide this year between Washington and the electorate, which has yet to give President Barack Obama much credit for his string of legislative victories.
Fifty-six percent of women consider the health care reform law a failure, while 29 percent view it as a success, according to the poll.
The economic stimulus package is viewed only slightly more favorably: 53 percent say it was a failure, while 34 percent say it was a success.
Among independent women – a group that Democrats and Republicans are battling over – a majority viewed the health care overhaul, the stimulus package, the auto industry bailout and the Troubled Asset Relief Program as failures, the poll found. TARP was approved during former President George W. Bush’s administration.
The negative take on what the White House views as signature achievements helps explain, at least in part, why the president and congressional Democrats have seen their approval ratings plunge since early last year and are struggling to gain traction ahead of the midterm elections. Women historically turn out in larger numbers than men, spelling trouble for incumbents.
“People who voted for Obama feel just as betrayed by the outcome as conservatives,” said Sonja Eddings Brown, treasurer and creator of The Kitchen Cabinet. “Everybody realizes we’re burying our kids in debt, and even Democrats realize hope and change had a price tag they didn’t expect.”
In the survey, 41 percent of the women identified themselves as Democrats, 37 percent as Republicans and 15 percent as independents.
Conway, a Republican who specializes in polling women voters, said she expected to see more optimism about the four major legislative achievements. The poll did not include any questions on the Wall Street reform law.
“Women are looking at this election almost entirely through an economic lens,” Conway said. “They expect the president to be a mathematician, not a magician. The policies they have seen in the last year literally don’t add with them.”
A New York Times/CBS News poll released last month suggested that women may be less likely to turnout to vote this year, showing less interest in the election than men.
But the Conway survey paints the picture of a more motivated electorate. More than two-thirds of women who are registered to vote said they are 100 percent “likely to vote.”
Conway’s firm, the polling company, inc./Woman Trend, surveyed 600 women. The poll was conducted from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3, and has a margin of error of plus or minus four percent
