As noted in an email to me this morning, GM has asked Congress for a short-term emergency aid package to help them survive the credit crunch and come out stronger on the other side. This has caused an intense public debate with media on both sides weighing in on the merits of federal aid for Detroit.

There’s a poll, released today, that explores what the American public thinks about this issue. According to the poll, the idea of federal aid has broad-based support: a majority of adults agree that the government should provide loans to the auto industry. They believe that the automakers will face bankruptcy without federal aid, that aid to automakers is viewed as just as important or more important than aid to the financial sector, and that the majority of people view a Big Three failure as a trigger for economic depression.

Of course, I do ask that you consider the source of the poll (Peter D. Hart Research Associates).

“Do you believe that the government should or should not provide loans to America’s automakers so they have the money to manufacture vehicles?” 55% agreed.

“President-elect Barack Obama has stated that one of his first economic priorities as president is to make sure that the American automobile industry continues to be able to operate, and he favors an economic assistance program to help them. Do agree or disagree with him?” 64% agreed.

“Do you believe that America’s automakers will face bankruptcy without government loans?” 60% agreed.

“The federal government has recently provided financial aid to the insurance and banking industries to make sure that these industries do not fail. Do you feel that providing financial aid to ensure that the U.S. auto industry does not fail is more important, just as important, or less important?” 55% believe it’s just as important.

“If General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler were to go out of business in the next few months, how likely do you think this would be to trigger an economic depression in the U.S.–extremely likely, very likely, somewhat likely, not likely, or not at all likely?” 33% say extremely, 27% say very, and 29% say somewhat.

“If you learned three to five years from now that America’s automakers had successfully weathered the current economic challenges and emerged as leaders in the worldwide automobile industry, how important would that be to America–extremely important, very important, somewhat important, not important, or not at all important?” 44% said extremely, 38% said very.

In my life, I’ve owned one American car – a 1991 Ford Escort. It served me well enough throughout my college years, but definitely had its fair share of problems and ultimately died. I moved on to a Nissan, a Toyota, and have been driving Acura automobiles for the past few years. It’s not like I don’t consider American cars when it comes to getting a new one, I just… find better options, prices, ratings in International vehicles.

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