Enlarge By Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty Images President Obama chats with workers attending a training class for oil cleanup personnel during a tour at the Theodore Staging Facility on Monday in Theodore, Ala. USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL Which comes closer to your view? 59% • BP should pay all financial losses from the oil spill even if it drives the company out of business. 38% • BP should pay as much of the financial losses as it can afford while remaining a viable company. Source: USA TODAY/Gallup Poll of 1,014 adults Friday-Sunday. Margin of error +/ 4 percentage points. PUBLIC OPINION PUBLIC OPINION From Truman to Obama, see each president's ratings with USA TODAY's approval tracker. WASHINGTON  Americans overwhelmingly view the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as an economic and environmental catastrophe that will reverberate for a decade and more, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds. When President Obama addresses the nation Tuesday, he'll face a public that is pessimistic about the future of Gulf coastal areas and their wildlife. Half of those surveyed say some beaches will never fully recover, and even more predict some species of fish and birds will never return to normal levels. Eight in 10 expect the spill to hurt the U.S. economy and drive up the cost of gas and food. "It's going to take time for things to return to normal," Obama said Monday as he made his fourth visit to the region. But he pushed back against the idea that the problem would prove unsolvable, and he urged Americans to go ahead with vacations in unaffected areas. "In the end, I am confident that we're going to be able to leave the Gulf Coast in better shape than it was before," he said in Theodore, Ala. In the speech at 8 p.m. ET, his first from the Oval Office, Obama will outline plans for BP to establish an independently run, multibillion-dollar fund to reimburse businesses and individuals for financial losses from the spill. Spokesman Bill Burton says the White House and BP are "working out the particulars" of the fund. LIVE CHAT WEDNESDAY: USA TODAY's Brian Winter talks about the Gulf oil spill RELIEF WELL: Aims at pipe 18,000 feet deep BP: Can the company clean up its image? OBAMA: President to push BP for damage fund That suits the public's get-tough mood. Nearly six in 10 of those surveyed say BP should be forced to pay for financial losses, including lost wages, even if it drives the British oil giant out of business. What's more, 71% say Obama hasn't been tough enough in dealing with BP, though by a narrow margin Americans are inclined to keep the company in charge of efforts to control the spill rather than having the federal government take over. The low ratings that the president and the company received in a USA TODAY survey in late May have worsened a bit. Now half of respondents give BP the lowest possible rating, saying it has done a "very poor" job. One in four say that of Obama. Who's to blame for the oil spill? Three out of four say BP deserves a "great deal" of the blame. Close to half, 44%, say the federal agencies that were supposed to be regulating the offshore drilling bear a lot of responsibility, too. White House aide David Axelrod says the public's downbeat mood is understandable but that the reality is less grim — a message Obama will make. "This is a huge environment catastrophe, there no question about it, but will it drag our economy down, will it send gas prices soaring, will it send food prices soaring? The answer to that is 'no,' " Axelrod said in an interview. "Can we restore this re Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more