The new ABC/Washington Post poll digs in to who the public blames for the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, and it turns out they blame everyone — the federal government and federal regulators, the company, you name it.
The poll finds President Obama’s approval rating on his handling of the situation at 44%, with 49% disapproval, compared to a more general approval rating of 52%-45%. The positive rating for the federal government’s handling of it is at only 28%, with a 69% negative rating, while BP’s number is even worse at 16%-81%.
On the specific question of how much blame different players deserve, 55% say that weak federal regulations deserve a “great deal” or “good amount” of blame, 63% also blame inadequate enforcement of existing regulations, and 73% also assign blame to unnecessary risks taken by BP and its drilling partners. In addition, 64% say the federal government should pursue criminal charges against BP and other companies involved in the spill.
The poll also asked this question: “To address the country’s energy needs, would you support or oppose action by the federal government to increase oil and gas drilling?” The answer is support 52%, oppose 45% — lower than the 64%-33% margin this past August.
The poll then asked specifically about offshore drilling: “Now thinking specifically about oil drilling in U.S. coastal waters, do you think the amount of offshore drilling should be increased, decreased, or kept about the same as now?” The answer was only 25% for increasing it, 31% for decreasing it, and 41% saying it should be kept about the same.
The national poll of adults has a ±3% margin of error.
