Poll: Americans want Obama, Congress to focus on job creation rather than deficit

A majority of Americans want President Obama to focus on job creation rather than closing the deficit, according to a new poll released Wednesday.

The CNN/Opinion Research Poll found that 65 percent of Americans would rather Obama and Congress focus on job creation than deficit reduction. Twenty-nine percent of those surveyed would rather Obama and Congress focus on the deficit, and 6 percent said they want Obama and Congress to focus on both evenly.

The CNN/Opinion Research poll comes roughly a week after the president unveiled his new job-creation plan, which would increase the employee payroll tax cut, extend unemployment insurance benefits for another year, create a national infrastructure bank and increase infrastructure spending. Since Obama released his plan he's been urging Congress to take swift action to move it into law.

A Bloomberg News poll also released Wednesday found a slim majority of Americans don't think Obama's jobs legislation will successfully cut down the unemployment rate. But the CNN/Opinion Research poll found that a majority of Americans trust Obama over the GOP on handling the economy. Additionally, the CNN/Opinion Research poll found that 46 percent of Americans trust Obama more than the GOP on handling the economy, compared to 37 percent who trust Republicans on more.

The Opinion Research poll surveyed 1,038 adults from Sept. 9-11, and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.