What are other pollers saying? I wouldn't recommend relying too much on Rasmussen because they're considerably more conservative than average... usually 5-10 points, sometimes more. For example, the RealClearPolitics average indicates that Obama's approval is more positive than negative by 28%. Rasmussen has a spread of +17%. I think that relying on Rasmussen is probably wishful thinking. That said, I suspect that a strong majority agrees that the US government will mismanage GM. But when it comes to determining how strong that majority is, Rasmussen is about as reliable as CBS/NYT.
powerline The reason why Obama doesn't fare as well in the Rasmussen survey is that it is a likely voter poll. Gallup etc. are anyone who answers a telephone.
I have a vested interest in one party winning, so I couldn't have been swayed either way by the informercial, but why did you find it disappointing? My cursory impression is that it was too victim-centric. I mean, if John McCain were doing this sort of commercial to sell his security policies, I think that it would be equally cheesy for him to use a WTC survivor. Surely the voters that are interested enough to see a 30 minute campaign presentation are mature enough to think abstractly about the problems facing the nation.
John H.