Poll: More Americans would blame GOP for shutdown than Obama

As finger-pointing on Capitol Hill continues on the eve of a possible government shutdown, a new national survey shows that more Americans would blame Republicans than President Barack Obama.

According to the CNN/ORC poll conducted Friday through Sunday, 46 percent say they would blame congressional Republicans for a government shutdown, with 36 percent saying the president would be more responsible and 13 percent blaming both the GOP and President Obama.

The results are similar to last week's CBS News/New York Times survey that showed 44 percent of Americans would blame congressional Republicans for a government shutdown, while 35 percent would place the blame on the president.

When asked if Barack Obama "has acted mostly like a responsible adult or mostly like a spoiled child" during the recent budget battle, 49 percent said the president has acted like a responsible adult, while 47 percent described Obama as a spoiled child.

When the same question was asked about members of Congress, 69 percent said GOP lawmakers have been acting like spoiled children, while 58 percent said the same of congressional Democrats.

The release of the poll comes on the heels of the GOP-led House of Representatives vote approving a bill that would avoid a government shutdown but also delay the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature health care law known as Obamacare, for a year.

On Sunday, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz tried to place the blame squarely on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for refusing to compromise on Obamacare.

"So far, [Reid] has essentially told the House of Representatives and the American people, 'Go jump in a lake,'" Cruz said on "Meet the Press" on NBC. "He said, 'I'm not willing to compromise, I'm not willing to even talk,' His position is 100 percent of Obamacare must be funded in all instances, and, other than that, he's going to shut the government down. I hope he doesn't do that. If Harry Reid forces a government shutdown, that will be a mistake. I hope he backs away from that ledge that he's pushing us towards, but that is his position."

Cruz continued: "Twice Harry Reid has said, 'We won't even have a conversation. I refuse to compromise.  We want to fund it all. We want to stick it on the American people. And we won't budge.' That's not a reasonable position. And if we have a shutdown, it will be because Harry Reid holds that absolutist position and essentially holds the American people hostage."