Paul linked to this yesterday, but I thought it deserved more play….

RASMUSSEN REPORTS, Fox Chicago Illinois poll [Edited slightly for more clarity]

Survey of 500 Likely Illinois Voters, taken August 22, 2007…

1 - How do you rate the way that George W. Bush is performing his role as President? Excellent, good, fair, or poor?

15% Excellent
17% Good

14% Fair
53% Poor

1% Not Sure

* BUSH TOTALS: 32% good or excellent… 67% fair or poor…

2 - How do you rate the way that Rod Blagojevich is performing his role as Governor? Excellent, good, fair, or poor?

5% Excellent
17% Good

25% Fair
53% Poor

1% Not Sure

* BLAGOJEVICH TOTALS: 22% good or excellent… 78% fair or poor…

So, in a pretty heavily Democratic state, Gov. Blagojevich is polling much worse than an enormously unpopular, lame duck Republican president. Truly horrendous.

By comparison, a July 12th poll by Ask Illinois found Blagojevich’s job approval as follows…

Approve 25.27%
Disapprove 64.41%
Unsure 10.32%

The new Rasmussen poll also shows that Illinoisans are very pessimistic about the present and the future…

8 - Looking out over the next couple of years, will the quality of life in Illinois get better, worse, or stay about the same?

15% Better

40% Worse

39% The Same

5% Not Sure

9 - How do you rate the economy in Illinois today—Excellent, good, fair, or poor?

3% Excellent

31% Good

45% Fair

21% Poor

0% Not Sure

10 - Over the next couple of years will the economy in Illinois get better or worse?

21% Better

43% Worse

26% The Same

10% Not Sure

And here’s the big kicker…

11 - Who is most to blame for the government’s budget stalemate—Governor Rod Blagojevich, the state legislature, special interest groups, or voters?

53% Blagojevich

19% State Legislature

20% Special Interest Groups

2% Voters

7% Not Sure

The voters seem to grasp the problem pretty well.