The other day I linked to a Rasmussen poll showing only 28% of Americans supporting the bailout plan. With 35% undecided it seemed that the American people could be influenced to oppose the plan in greater numbers.
But two things have happened since then. One, more evidence has surfaced (including in today's Senate testimony) that the Bush Administration has screwed up the economy even worse than people imagined. And two, Senator Dodd has proposed a far better and more effective bailout plan than that offered by Henry Paulson.
Though it's dangerous to compare two pollsters together - the question wording may have been different - there seems to be more support for some kind of government bailout plan than there was on Friday. Pew shows that 57% agree with the following statement:
As you may know, the government is potentially investing billions to try and keep financial institutions and markets secure. Do you think this is the right thing or the wrong thing for the government to be doing?
Again, the question wording may be at issue here. "Billions" and "hundreds of billions" resonate differently. And "investing" sounds far less troublesome than "bailing out."
But 57% is a fairly substantial level of support at this point, and it's coming from Republicans, Democrats and Independents.
If this poll accurately reflects support for a large-scale bailout plan then we have little to worry about with Obama falling into a trap by backing the Dodd plan. Obama laid out four principles for a bailout plan today and it's very likely that the Dodd plan will meet those criteria. If McCain and the Republicans oppose it they will not come out looking "principled." They'll look foolish for failing to take action in a financial emergency. In fact, they may look Hooveresque.
I wanted to post this to keep this issue in some perspective. We all think the bailout stinks for one reason or another. We all think the Bush Administration and conservatism itself is to blame for much of this. But, if Paul Krugman and other progressive economists are supporting the Dodd plan, perhaps it makes sense for us to give it a second look too, and not get wrapped up in Patrick Ruffini's grand Rovian delusions.
If the original Paulson plan were on the table then we should reject it outright. But the willingness of the Bush Administration to negotiate on key matters of the plan means that we may actually get what Dodd is asking for.