Fox News poll: Voters want Uncle Sam to 'Leave me alone'

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

A Fox News poll asks which of two messages voters would send to the federal government. A 54-percent majority would tell Uncle Sam to “leave me alone,” while 35 percent would ask Washington to “lend me a hand.”

That’s just one of the findings from the poll, released Thursday, that asks likely voters about the role of government, the Democratic and Republican tickets and the future of the nation.

Democrats (59 percent) are nearly four times as likely as Republicans (15 percent) to say they would tell the government to “lend me a hand.”

Likewise, Republicans (80 percent) are about three times as likely as Democrats (27 percent) to say “leave me alone.”

Among independents, the message would be “leave me alone” for more than twice as many as it would be “lend me a hand” (63 percent and 25 percent respectively).

Meanwhile, the poll asks voters whether or not some of the criticisms being said about the presidential and vice presidential candidates are fair.

A 53-percent majority thinks it’s fair to say President Barack Obama wants to “change the country in a way that makes people more dependent on government.” Some 44 percent think that’s an unfair description of him.

Views are more evenly divided on whether Republican challenger Mitt Romney wants to “change the country in ways that will make the rich even richer but will not help everyone else.” Some 47 percent say it’s fair to say that, while 49 percent say that’s unfair.

By a 14-percentage point margin, more voters (51 percent) think it’s unfair to say Romney’s running mate Paul Ryan has “extreme views and doesn’t care if he hurts seniors with his budget cuts” than think it’s fair to say that about him (37 percent).

And by an 11-percentage point margin, voters (52-percent) think it’s unfair to say the number of embarrassing gaffes Vice President Joe Biden’s made shows he’s not smart enough to be president. Forty-one percent say that’s fair.

Finally, with less than 80 days until an election offering two different visions for the country, the poll shows 57 percent of likely voters believe the country is on the decline as a civilization. In contrast, 31 percent think the United States is on the rise.

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