. . . But You Can't Fool All The People All Of The Time.

Honest Abe he ain't. And while he might have been able to fool most of the people back in November 2008, it would seem, from the latest Rasmussen poll, that Obama's ablities at deception are starting to wear thin.

. . . President Obama this week formally kicked off meetings of his bipartisan deficit reduction commission, but most Americans view the commission as cover for Congress to raise taxes.

. . . 78% think it’s at least somewhat likely that Congress will raise taxes if the commission proposes any tax hikes, including 53% who say the legislators are very likely to do so. Only 14% say Congress is not very or not at all likely to raise taxes if the commission recommends it.

Although 83% of Americans are concerned about the size of the federal budget deficit, just five percent (5%) think Congress and the president should consider only tax increases when dealing with it. Forty-three percent (43%) say only spending cuts should be considered, up eight points from February. Forty-four percent (44%) say a mix of spending cuts and tax increases should be on the table. . . .

Eighty-three percent (83%) of Americans say the size of the federal budget deficit is due more to the unwillingness of politicians to cut government spending than to the reluctance of taxpayers to pay more in taxes.

Democrats from the start have viewed health care reform as the most important of the budget priorities cited by the president in a speech to Congress last February. Republicans and unaffiliated voters consistently have said the president’s priority should be cutting the federal budget deficit in half by the end of his first term.

Most voters believe the new national health care plan will raise the deficit, which is one reason why 58% support its repeal.

Fifty-three percent (53%) of voters say cutting government spending is good for the economy, and 61% say the same of cutting taxes. Forty-one percent (41%) prefer a budget deficit with tax cuts over a balanced budget that requires higher taxes. Nearly as many (36%) would rather see a balanced budget with higher taxes.

Even if the president and Congress raise taxes to reduce the federal deficit, 58% of voters think they are more likely to spend the money on new government programs. . . .

It would seem that a majority of American have had their eyes opened. If the Republicans are smart, they will unveil a detailed plan to reduce the deficit by July - both to run on against the Democrats who are unable to float a plan of their own and to get well out in front of the Democrat's "budget deficit commission.