Voters believe election will not change economy

A new poll has found that six in ten Americans believe that it will make no difference if Barack Obama or Mitt Romney wins the Presidential election when it comes to restoring the US economy, despite the fact that both candidates are campaigning on a platform of insisting that they can be the one to rectify the situation.

The poll, which was conducted by Associated Press-GfK, saw over 50% of respondents say that the Presidential election would have from ‘slim to none’ when asked about the impact the winner would have when it came to such issues as unemployment, in what is sure to be seen as a blow to both candidates.

Described as the ‘issue of 2012’, the economy has been at the forefront of both campaigns; however, the poll results shows that it is failing to convince voters that changes can be made in the short term.  Financial worries in the eurozone are also adding to what is being described as ‘deflated American optimism’, with 66% of people describing the economic situation in the US as ‘poor’ and 31% actually believing that unemployment will continue to grow over the next 12 months. This still means, however, that almost 70% believe that unemployment will not fall.

Speaking about the results, Obama supporter Everett Hickman from Charlotte NC said: "The federal government has some influence over the economy. It doesn’t have the kind of push-pull, click-clack control that some people seem to think, or pretend to think.” Romney supporter Maria Fisher, while willing to give Romney a chance to fix the situation, said that she is doubtful that there is actually anything he can do.

While it remains to be seen if the Presidential candidates will be able to sort out the state of the economy, there is optimism that they are making it one of the core issues of their campaigns.