A new poll shows that a majority of small business owners across the country are dissatisfied with the Obama administration's policies on a wide range of issues.

So, it should come as no surprise that 58 percent of respondents want someone new in the White House.

The poll was conducted earlier this month by Zogby International and commissioned by The O'Leary Report and ATI-News. It surveyed 10,018 likely voters who are small business owners and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point.

The nation's 28 million small business owners are spread out among three different state categories: solid-GOP red states, solid-Democrat blue states, and battleground "green" states that could vote either way come November 2012.

Sixty-two percent of small business owners in red states want someone new to be president. The numbers are 54 percent and 60 percent, respectively, in the blue and green states.

North Carolina falls solidly in the green category, mainly because we have a Democratic governor and a legislature controlled by Republicans. We also have U.S. senators from each party.

Seventy percent of small business owners say that the U.S. unemployment rate needs to drop to 8 percent or below for them to believe that Obama's economic team has the correct policies in place.

In addition, 64 percent would prefer that Congress reduce spending and balance the budget, as opposed to spending more "stimulus" money to try to create jobs.

A 45 percent plurality of small business owners think the best way to create jobs is to reduce regulations and red tape, and an additional 19 percent say that reducing corporate taxes is the key.

I found the poll results intriguing and decided to call a couple of small business owners in Moore County. Not surprisingly, each had a different take on the issue.

A Southern Pines businessman didn't blame the current administration for the country's economic woes.

"I am not pro- or anti-Obama," he said. "It's years and years of one bad policy after another. Both political parties are to blame. I have no faith in either of them."

He is especially galled by the fact that small business owners with good credit are having a tough time securing bank loans.

"You have to be Olympically fit credit-wise. If you don't pass every test, you don't qualify," he said. "I hate to say it, but today will look like the good ol' days in three years."

A Pinehurst businesswoman who voted for Obama in 2008 believes that he hasn't been given enough time.

"The long-term, most beneficial effects of his policies likely won't kick in until his second term, if he is re-elected," she said. "I think a lot of people are jumping the gun and looking for a scapegoat. President Obama is an easy target."

Easy or not, the poll found that 64 percent of small business owners disapprove of the president's handling of the economy, and 56 percent strongly disapprove.

A strong majority (77 percent) also want to repeal the provision in the new health care law that requires them to report any purchases of over $600 to the Internal Revenue Service, because such a requirement overburdens both them and the IRS.

As for the Obama administration's spending of "stimulus" money to create jobs, 58 percent of small business owners think that effort has been completely ineffective, and an additional 11 percent think it's been somewhat ineffective.

What do you think?

Contact Ted Natt at tnatt@thepilot.com.