O'Leary Report/Zogby Poll Finds Business Leaders Not Happy with Obama's First 60 Days

/PRNewswire/ -- With the economy leading all headlines, and a never-ending stream of opinion polls flowing daily, The O'Leary Report, in conjunction with Zogby International, conducted the first comprehensive survey of America's business leaders to see what they think of Obama's policies to date. The survey found that a clear majority of business leaders staunchly oppose the President's actions over the past two months.

Below are some of the poll's results. This was an online survey of 884 business leaders, who are also likely voters, and it has a margin of error of +/- 1.5 percentage points. To see more results, go to www.olearyreport.com.

Question 1: In regard to the bank rescue plans and economic
stimulus, do you feel the Obama administration is trying to do too
much, is disorganized, needs more time, or is right on target?

Fifty percent of business leaders think the Obama administration is
disorganized, while only 10 percent think it is "right on target."
Twenty-eight percent think the Obama administration needs more
time, another 10 percent think it's trying to do too much, and one
percent are "not sure."

Question 2: How do you rate President Obama's efforts to free up
credit markets in his first 60 days?

Fifty-two percent of business leaders rate Obama's effort as
"poor," while only 15 percent say it is "excellent." Twenty-two
percent give Obama a "good" rating and 10 percent say "fair" (one
percent are not sure).

Question 3: Do you think the budget recently proposed by President
Obama spends too much, not enough, or the right amount?

A solid 62 percent majority think President Obama's budget spends
too much, while only 13 percent say "not enough." Only 16 percent
of business leaders think it spends the right amount, and nine
percent are not sure.

Question 4: The Employee Free Choice Act is a proposed bill that
would effectively eliminate the secret ballot used by workers in
deciding whether or not their plant, business, or small business
should be unionized. Do you favor or oppose the bill?

Seventy-two percent of business leaders oppose this bill, which
Obama supports. Only 19 percent favor the bill, and 10 percent are
not sure.

Question 5: Do you agree or disagree that President Obama's
proposed tax hikes for those making $250,000 or more will hurt
businesses, forcing them to lay-off employees?

Fifty-two percent of business leaders agree that Obama's tax hikes
will hurt businesses and increase unemployment; while 42 percent
disagree (six percent are not sure).

AIG Gives $644,000 in 'Campaign Bonuses' to U.S. Senators and Representatives According to The O'Leary Report

/PRNewswire/ -- As President Barack Obama and Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) continue to point fingers over which one of them is to blame for the stimulus bill's "Dodd Amendment," which specifically excludes bonuses from caps on executive pay, one thing is clear: both Obama and Dodd profited from AIG campaign "bonuses" and an overwhelming majority of Americans want them to give this money back.

According to a breaking poll conducted by The O'Leary Report and Zogby International, 73 percent of Americans think any members of Congress who received campaign contributions from AIG over the last two years should return the money.

This might go double for President Obama and Senator Dodd, who were by far the largest recipients of AIG campaign cash in the last election cycle. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Obama received $104,332 from AIG and Dodd raked in $103,900. Obama and Dodd far outpaced the rest of Congress, as the next largest beneficiary received about $45,000 less than each of them. All told, AIG gave a total of $644,218 to federal candidates over the last election cycle.

The O'Leary Report/Zogby poll, which was conducted March 20-23 and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 1.5 percentage points, asked 4,523 likely voters: "Should members of Congress who received campaign donations over the past two years from the troubled financial giant AIG return the contributions?"

Seventy-three percent of all respondents say "yes," these members of Congress should return their AIG bonuses. Among self-described Democrats, 61 percent say yes, as do 83 percent of Republicans and 78 percent of Independents.

Sixty-four percent of young voters aged 18-29 years old, one of the President's most enthusiastic support groups, think that Obama and congressional recipients of AIG donations should return them. Seventy-four percent of taxpayers and 70 percent of Americans who have no federal income tax liability also think the money should be returned.

The Center for Responsive Politics lists AIG as the fourth largest contributor to Senator Dodd, who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, giving him a total of $281,038 in campaign bonuses over his career. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, has received more money from AIG over his career ($91,000) than he has from any other company. The Center also reports that stimulus bill supporter Senator John Kerry (D-MA) "was by far the biggest investor in AIG, with stock valued around $2 million."

Congress may be undecided on how best to recoup AIG's taxpayer-funded bonuses, however, a clear majority of American voters want members of Congress to return the campaign bonuses they received from AIG.