GOVERNMENT GAINS, BUSINESS SLIPS, IN LATEST GALLUP POLL - AT 7:51 A.M. ET:  A newly released poll shows Americans fear big government more than big business, but that the gap is narrowing.  From the Chicago Tribune's "The Swamp":

Fifty-five percent view big government as the biggest threat, 32 percent big business -- but that's down from 61 percent vis a vis gov't and up from 25 percent vis a vis business when Gallup asked the same questions in December of 2006.

And guess what: The party breakdowns are dramatic: 80 percent of Republicans view big government as the biggest threat to the country, up from 68 percent in December 2006. Just 55 percent of Democrats said big government posed the greater threat in that 2006 survey, while 32 percent say so in the latest poll.

COMMENT:  The results aren't surprising.  Obama's election has made government, at least temporarily, somewhat more popular.  By contrast, business wears a big black eye, some of it deserved, over its stewardship in recent years. 

The threat here is that government can grab power and not give it back.  Corruptionists in big business can be handled in a number of ways.

April 21, 2009