Most People Are Pretty Stupid, Probably Including You

Matt Yglesias points this out oh jerd we:

Here's some fun findings from the Washington Post's latest poll. By a margin of 48-45, voters say it's more important for the federal government to "spend money to try to encourage job creation" than it is to try to hold down the budget deficit. And by a narrow 46-45 margin, voters say they prefer Barack Obama's approach to taxes over Mitt Romneys. 

So naturally by a margin of 42-52 they say that Romney will "do a better job of handling the federal budget deficit."

A valuable reminder that whatever "the federal budget deficit" is in the hazy world of public opinion it's not the accounting document driven by federal tax policy (on which Obama is preferred) and federal spending (on which the public is closer to Obama). It's something else.

This is exactly why publicly wringing your hands about "the deficit" and screaming about "fiscal responsibility!" is the right thing to do if you're a politician looking to scare people into voting for you. Most people are very stupid, and claiming you're gonna treat the government's money like a household budget is an easy, "I'm folks jes' like you!" way of making them feel like they're being responsible, good Americans. Meanwhile, said politician can have a good laugh at how easy fooling the majority of people really is. Rinse, lather, repeat.