Financial Reform May Not Help Democrats in Midterms

Yesterday, we learned that health care reform, the stimulus, and the auto bailouts are likely to haunt Democrats come November. But what about the big financial regulation push that dominated the news throughout the spring and summer? Surely, Americans will appreciate that Democrats stuck it to the banks, right? Not so much, according to a new survey from by economists at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University. Real Time Economics reports:

Just 12% of respondents in the survey said they were satisfied with the Dodd-Frank law to revamp financial oversight, while 54% were dissatisfied. Two out of three people said they believe the measure is insufficient to protect against future bailouts. Even among only Democrats, the law has little support. Just 35% of Democrats said they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the measure. The vast majority of Republicans, 80%, said they were dissatisfied, along with 54% of independents.

Read the full story at the Wall Street Journal's Real Time Economics blog.