Americans have more confidence in Obama than Romney on economy: Survey

Washington - Americans have more confidence in President Barack Obama than his top Republican challenger Mitt Romney to do or to recommend the right thing for the  country's economy, according to a Gallup survey released on Friday.
    
Obama gained support from 50 percent of Americans in his dealing with the economy, compared with 42 percent who trust Romney, revealed Gallup's annual Economy and Personal Finance  survey conducted April 9-12.  
    
Not surprisingly, 86 percent of Democrats express confidence in Obama on the economy, while 17 percent of Republicans agree. Independents are split, with 47 percent expressing a great  deal or fair amount of confidence in Obama and 52 percent saying they have only a little or almost no confidence in the president's economic leadership.
    
Americans' confidence in Romney on the economy also varies widely by party. Sixty-nine percent of Republicans express confidence in Romney, while 25 percent of Democrats and 35  percent of independents do so, the survey found.
    
Americans' confidence in Obama's handling of the economy remains unchanged from last year, but down from his high of 71 percent in 2009. Former Republican President George W. Bush  also experienced a sharp decline in confidence on the economy, as his support plunged from a high of 73 percent in 2002 to 55 percent in 2004 and 34 percent in 2008.
    
The survey bodes well for Obama's re-election campaign, because it runs counter to the general perception that Romney, a successful businessman, could do a better job in managing the  economy if he became president.
    
The results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews with 1,016 American adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. It has an error margin  of about 4 percent.