Poll: Nearly half of Republicans take President's side, say cuts should be separate from debt limit

Nearly half of Republicans also take the president’s side when it comes to one important aspect of the intense debate over the nation’s debt limit: that the issue of raising the borrowing limit should be separate from the identification of spending cuts.

Republican leaders in Congress have drawn a hard line that such cuts are essential to any legislative deal to raise the debt ceiling. Republicans in the poll, however, are divided on the issue: 48 percent say any increase in the debt limit should be tied to cuts, while nearly as many, 45 percent, say that the two issues should be isolated, discrete issues.

The general public sides with Obama on this question: 58 percent say cuts should be a separate matter, and 36 percent say they should be knotted with the borrowing limit. Obama also has the trust edge here: 49 percent say they have more confidence in him to handle the issue, compared with 35 percent who put more faith in the GOP.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/most-see-obama-as-strong-leader-say-deal-on-debt-ceiling-does-not-require-cuts/2013/01/15/f32e4fc8-5f64-11e2-a389-ee565c81c565_story.html

WOW!!