It looks like the American people are giving Barack Obama some breathing room.

He should take it. And he should use the opportunity to develop a prudent and coherent policy for dealing with the nation’s fiscal crisis.

While the Bush administration is taking some steps, it’s a safe bet that a lot of work will remain for the next administration in terms of helping to stabilize the economy and restore public confidence in assorted institutions.

Assisting in this effort is a public opinion poll released this week. The poll, authorized by The Associated Press, found that only 36 percent of respondents want Obama to push for the tax cuts he proposed during the campaign.

Instead, a vast majority of Americans wants the new president to focus on efforts to strengthen the economy. The poll said 84 percent of the public supports that goal as a top priority.

The willingness of most Americans to forgo a tax cut (at least for now) makes sense. Such a move would improve household incomes only slightly. The benefits of a tax cut are cumulative, not the sort of jolt needed to jump-start an economy.

Plus, we presume most people would prefer to have an income to tax, rather than worry about a widening economic downturn claiming their jobs.

Yet the questions linger: What, precisely, should the federal government do in the current fiscal climate? And what can it do that will produce positive, sustained results?

Right now, the focus is on protecting major financial institutions and taking steps to encourage the lending of money — albeit in a more responsible way than in the past.

However, there are pressures to broaden existing bailout efforts to other sectors of the economy, most notably the auto industry, which has been hit hard by the credit crunch as well as high gas prices that have shifted purchases to more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The loss of much of the nation’s auto industry would be a terrible financial blow, sending out shock waves to the rest of the economy. There is an obvious incentive for the government to support key sectors to ensure their survival.

But there is also an incentive to insist the auto, banking and other industries take steps to protect their own future health. Car makers, for example, have long fought efforts to promote fuel efficiency standards. Had they agreed to them years ago, they would have been better positioned to deal with the inevitable rise in gasoline prices.

If the government bails out the auto industry, then what? Will there be assurances of efficiency? Will car makers commit to a system that allows them to better adapt their production to the realities of the marketplace?

Or will a bailout perpetuate the idea that large industries can afford to be sloppy, because government will pick up the pieces?

The task of strengthening the American economy must include an adherence to self-discipline that begins with government. The current financial crisis is the result of people and businesses borrowing and spending beyond their means. It’s a recklessness recorded at every level of society, from individuals to Washington.