If you had the feeling that there is way too much congressional energy and media coverage being lavished on the debt ceiling negotiations, you are not alone. As TDS Co-Editor Ruy Teixeira reports in today’s edition of his ‘Public Opinion Snapshot,’

For most Americans the most important issues are still the economy and jobs. In a late June CBS/New York Times poll, 53 percent said the economy/jobs was the most important problem facing the country today, compared to just 7 percent who said the deficit/debt was most important.
What’s more, 62 percent thought reducing unemployment was more important than reducing the deficit in a just-released Quinnipiac University poll, compared to just 32 percent who thought reducing the deficit was more important.

As Teixeira concludes, “Wake up, policymakers! We’ve got 9.2 percent unemployment, and the public isn’t interested in endless disputes about how much and how fast to cut the deficit. They’re interested in jobs.”