Poll: Obama Approval Hits New High - 66%

[@DCGoldPants]

Can anybody explain "why" this is happening? After the meltdown, I thought the honeymoon was over.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/06/opinion/polls/main4923710.shtml

Poll: Obama Approval Hits New High - 66%

CBS/NY Times Survey Finds Most Believe World Leaders Respect President, Though They Maintain U.S. Is Not Respected Overall

April 6, 2009

President Barack Obama gestures during his speaech to Turkish paliament on Monday, April 6, 2009, at Cankaya Palace in Ankara, Turkey.

(CBS) As President Obama concludes his well-publicized trip to Europe, Americans are more positive about the respect accorded to a U.S. president than they have been in years, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll.

Sixty-seven percent say world leaders respect Mr. Obama, while 18 percent say they do not respect the president. That's a sharp contrast to the response when this question was asked about Mr. Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, in July 2006: Just 30 percent then said the president is respected by the leaders of other countries.

Mr. Obama's overall approval rating, meanwhile, has hit a new high of 66 percent, up from 64 percent last month. His disapproval rating stands at 24 percent. Nearly all Democrats and most independents approve of the way the president is handling his job, while only 31 percent of Republicans approve.

Read The Complete Poll (PDF)

While Americans approve of the president and believe he is respected worldwide, they do not believe the U.S. is respected by other countries in general. More than half of those surveyed - 52 percent - think the United States is not respected around the world today. Thirty-six percent say the country is respected around the world.

Still, Americans are more positive about perceptions of their country than they were in July 2007, when just 24 percent said the U.S. is respected around the world and 71 percent said it is not.

The U.S. And World Economy

Most Americans - 60 percent - agree with the argument articulated by the president at the G20 summit last week that the United States needs to work with other countries to fix the problems facing the global economy in order to fix the economic problems back home.

Thirty-seven percent disagree with the argument that the United States should be working with other countries to fix its economy. (Click here for poll data on Americans' views on trade with other countries.)

Americans remain concerned that the United States may lose its position as the world's economic leader. Nearly eight in 10 are at least somewhat concerned, including 40 percent who are very concerned.

Still, the percentage of Americans who are very concerned is down 10 points from last July.

Approval Of The President And The Country's Direction

(CBS)

President Obama's approval ratings on foreign policy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the economy are nearly as high as his 66 percent approval rating overall.

Fifty-nine percent approve of his handling of foreign policy, and an identical percentage approve of his handling of Iraq; 58 percent approve of his handling of Afghanistan, while 56 percent approve of his handling of the economy.

Approval of the president coincides with a growing optimism about the direction in which the country is headed. Although a slight majority still thinks the country is on the wrong track, the percentage that thinks the country is now headed in the right direction has been growing steadily since Mr. Obama took office.

Thirty-nine percent now think the country is headed in the right direction, up four points from last month and 32 points from the all-time low of seven percent reached last October. Fifty-three percent say the country is on the wrong track, down from 89 percent in October.

First Lady Michelle Obama continues to be popular with many Americans. Fifty-percent view her favorably, while just 5 percent view her unfavorably.

Afghanistan And Iraq:

(AP Photo/Allahuddin Khan)

President Obama’s second stop on his trip to Europe was the NATO summit meeting in France, much of which focused on the alliance's first military mission outside of Europe - the war in Afghanistan.

In December 2001, following the U.S. invasion there, 93 percent of Americans thought the war there was going well. In March 2003, the numbers had declined somewhat, but 76 percent still thought the war was going well.

Now, however, only 36 percent of Americans think the war in Afghanistan is going well, and most (52 percent) think it is going badly.

Americans are divided as to whether or not the U.S. should send more troops to Afghanistan, something Mr. Obama has announced he plans to do. Thirty-nine percent of Americans think U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan should be increased, but 33 percent think they should be decreased - up from 24 percent in February.

Eighteen percent say U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan should remain the same.

Those who think things are going badly in Afghanistan are divided about what should be done: 40 percent say troop levels should be increased, while 38 percent say they should be decreased.

Americans are far more optimistic about the situation in Iraq than they are the war in Afghanistan. Sixty-two percent say things are going well there, up from 22 percent in June 2007. Thirty percent say things in Iraq are going badly.

More findings from the poll:

• Almost three-quarters of Americans think it is a good idea to raise taxes on people making more than $250,000 per year. In fact, two-thirds of Americans think the tax code should be changed so that middle-class Americans pay less than they do now and "upper income" people pay more. (Read more here.)
  
• Fewer than half support the Obama administration's recent plans for either the auto or banking industries - though there is more support for the administration’s proposals for automakers.
  (Read more here.)
  
• Fifty-seven percent of Americans say they are willing to pay higher taxes in order to provide all Americans with health care coverage. While seventy three percent of Democrats favor a tax increase to fund coverage, only 29 percent of Republicans back such a move. (Read more here.)
  
• Some critics have suggested President Obama is trying to accomplish too much too soon, but 55 percent of Americans think he is trying to accomplish the right amount. More do say the president is trying to accomplish too much (38 percent) than say too little (4 percent).
  

This poll was conducted among a random sample of 998 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone April 1-5, 2009. Phone numbers were dialed from RDD samples of both standard land-lines and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.

This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

[skinsfan07]

cuz Obama's the ****. That's why.

[greenspandan]

because MOST people are smart enough to realize the current situation isn't his fault.

[skinsfan07]

because MOST people are smart enough to realize the current situation isn't his fault.

this.

[BigMike619]

did some turkish dudes just try to assassinate him?

or were going to stab him up?

[FanboyOf91]

Stock market jumped from 6600 to 8000 in the past month.

[PleaseBlitz]

did some turkish dudes just try to assassinate him?

or were going to stab him up?

Yeah, but stabbing a dude is a sign of respect in Turkey.

[BigMike619]

Yeah, but stabbing a dude is a sign of respect in Turkey.

well ****..i know some jive turkeys that could use a good stabbin

[Duckus]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/us/politics/07poll.html?_r=1&hp

Outlook on Economy Is Brightening, Poll Finds

By ADAM NAGOURNEY and MEGAN THEE-BRENAN

Americans have grown more optimistic about the economy and the direction of the country in the 11 weeks since President Obama was inaugurated, suggesting that he is enjoying some success in his critical task of rebuilding the nation’s confidence, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

These sometimes turbulent weeks — marked by new initiatives by Mr. Obama, attacks by Republicans and more than a few missteps by the White House — do not appear to have hurt the president. Americans said they approved of Mr. Obama’s handling of the economy, foreign policy, Iraq and Afghanistan; fully two-thirds said they approved of his overall job performance.

By contrast, just 31 percent of respondents said they had a favorable view of the Republican Party, the lowest in the 25 years the question has been asked in New York Times/CBS News polls.

It is not unusual for new presidents to enjoy a period of public support. Still, the durability of Mr. Obama’s support contrasts with that of some of his predecessors at the same point in their terms. It is also striking at a time when anxiety has gripped households across the country and Mr. Obama has alternately sought to rally Americans’ spirits and warn against economic collapse as he seeks Congressional support for his programs.

The poll found that 70 percent of respondents were very or somewhat concerned that someone in their household would be out of work and looking for a job in the next 12 months. Forty percent said they had cut spending on luxuries, and 10 percent said they had cut back on necessities; 31 percent said they had cut both.

For all that, the number of people who said they thought the country was headed in the right direction jumped from 15 percent in mid-January, just before Mr. Obama took office, to 39 percent today, while the number who said it was headed in the wrong direction dropped to 53 percent from 79 percent. That is the highest percentage of Americans who said the country was headed in the right direction since 42 percent said so in February 2005, the second month of President George W. Bush’s second term.

The percentage of people who said the economy was getting worse has declined from 54 percent just before Mr. Obama took office to 34 percent today. And 20 percent now think the economy is getting better, compared with 7 percent in mid-January.

“It’s psychology more than anything else,” Arthur Gilman, a Republican from Ridgewood, N.J., said in a follow-up interview to the poll. “President Obama has turned around the negative feeling in this country. He’s given everything an impetus because he’s very upbeat, like Roosevelt was. It’s too soon to tell if the spending stuff works, but some things have improved.”

Frank Henwood, an independent from Amarillo, Tex., said: “Hopefully, the stock market has bottomed out and is on the rise. Once the stock market shapes up, I think the economy will come back, and then jobs will come back and people will start buying automobiles made in America.”

With the poll finding that an overwhelming number think the recession will last a year or more, Mr. Obama may find he has a deep well of patience to draw on. The poll found that he shoulders virtually none of the public blame for the economic crisis: 33 percent blame Mr. Bush, 21 percent blame financial institutions, and 11 percent blame Congress.

By more than three to one, voters said they trusted Mr. Obama more than they trusted Congressional Republicans to make the right decisions about the economy. And by more than two to one, they said they trusted Mr. Obama to keep the nation safe, typically a Republican strong suit. Nearly one-quarter of Republicans said they trusted Mr. Obama more than Congressional Republicans to make the right decisions about the economy.

“As far as acting like adults and getting things done, the Democrat Party has done better,” said Rachel Beeson, an independent from Wahiawa, Hawaii. “The Republican Party seems to have decided that they are going to turn down anything that comes out of the White House, and nothing will get done that way.”

The poll showed signs of continued political division: 57 percent of people who said they voted for Senator John McCain in November said they disapproved of Mr. Obama’s performance. While Mr. Obama’s budget proposal enjoys the support of 56 percent of Americans over all, sentiments splinter along party lines: 79 percent of Democrats said his budget had the right priorities, compared with 27 percent of Republicans.

The survey was conducted Wednesday through Sunday, while Mr. Obama was in Europe for the Group of 20 summit of the world’s largest economies. Two-thirds of respondents said leaders of other countries had respect for Mr. Obama; when a similar question was asked in July 2006, 30 percent of respondents said foreign leaders had respect for Mr. Bush.

The national telephone poll was conducted with 998 adults. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Even as Americans strongly support Mr. Obama, they do not necessarily support all of his initiatives. For example, 58 percent disapprove of his proposal to bail out banks. But the percentage of respondents who said they thought it would benefit all Americans, rather than only bankers, jumped from 29 percent in February to 47 percent now, signaling that the White House might be making progress in changing perceptions of the plan.

And as Mr. Obama has proposed a vast expansion in spending and programs, 48 percent of Americans said they preferred a smaller government providing fewer services, while 41 percent preferred a bigger government with more services.

Americans remain concerned about the growing national debt being passed on to future generations, but in the face of the current economic troubles, they are divided over whether it is necessary to increase debt. Forty-six percent said the government should not incur further debt, but 45 percent said the government should spend money to stimulate the economy even though it would increase the budget deficit.

Amid evidence of a surge of populism in response to abuses on Wall Street, respondents said by more than two to one that Democrats cared more about the needs of people like themselves than Republicans did. Seventy-one percent of Americans said Mr. Obama cared more about the interests of ordinary people than about large corporations.

Mr. Obama’s push to increase income taxes on people making over $250,000 a year was supported by 74 percent of respondents. When presented with the possibility that taxing those in the higher income bracket might hurt the economy, 39 percent of those polled still backed the plan.

[Midnight Judges]

By contrast, just 31 percent of respondents said they had a favorable view of the Republican Party, the lowest in the 25 years the question has been asked in New York Times/CBS News polls.

lol I'm actually pretty surprised their ratings are even that high.

[December90]

Because the kool-aid tastes good

[SkinsHokieFan]

No surprise here. Things *appear* to be getting better (although they really aren't, this coming as a small business owner, not a partisan R)

I expect if the status quo remains, he can carry this through the end of the year. I think he can also stay in the 60s if things do get worse until December

In 2010, if things in reality aren't better, his ratings will take a hit. That or if he signs off on some controversial piece of legislation, such as an AWB revival

[greenspandan]

in polls, people say they will give the new president 18 months to make considerable progress on the economy, but i think they're oversetimating their own patience. his numbers will fall late this summer.

[skinsfan07]

in polls, people say they will give the new president 18 months to make considerable progress on the economy, but i think they're oversetimating their own patience. his numbers will fall late this summer.

hater in the house.

[RammsteinSkins]

Uh-Oh. Rdskn4lyf21 is in the thread.

[SkinsBry]

Yeah, but stabbing a dude is a sign of respect in Turkey.

Shoe throwing is the in thing right now.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/04/07/India-shoe-thrower-released-without-charge/UPI-14151239105203/

I guess you could say Turkey wants change too. :doh:

[armstrong001]

in polls, people say they will give the new president 18 months to make considerable progress on the economy, but i think they're oversetimating their own patience. his numbers will fall late this summer.

Recessions average 16 months in durration. If they wait 18 months, we should be out of this recession. If not, he SHOULD be blamed, because his policies will have retarded the recovery that always happens.

[Rdskn4Lyf21]

Uh-Oh. Rdskn4lyf21 is in the thread.

:finger:

Just snooping around

[greenspandan]

hater in the house.

no way, i'm a huge liberal and huge fan of obama. but i don't think the recession will begin to end until next winter, and i think public support will begin to turn late this summer.

[Duckus]

Recessions average 16 months in durration. If they wait 18 months, we should be out of this recession. If not, he SHOULD be blamed, because his policies will have retarded the recovery that always happens.

And in your opinion, this is just some normal recession?

[Larry]

Awaiting the first person to claim that this is a clear sign that Obama is de Debil.

[Thinking Skins]

Its a conspiracy. They're only asking liberals!

[armstrong001]

And in your opinion, this is just some normal recession?

In my opinion, this is no worse than the recession of the late 70's / early 80's. That recession lasted about two years or three years. As Democrats have been harping on over, this current recession has been going on for more than a year, close to the 16 month "average".

I believe that the economy, if left to its own devices, would be starting to recover very soon, as in the next couple of months. If people are giving Obama 18 months, starting when he took office, we have another 16 months or so before people "get mad". The economy damn well should be recovered by then. If not, then people SHOULD look at the Democrat legislation pushed through over the last couple of months and wonder why it hasn't helped.

[armstrong001]

Awaiting the first person to claim that this is a clear sign that Obama is de Debil.

Wait no longer. Obama is teh devil! :evilg:

[IHOPSkins]

Who do you ask.......

LAMBRO: Obama's approval rating skids

Most polls show President Obama's job approval in the 59 percent to mid-60 percent range, but not pollster John Zogby, who says his score has dropped below 50 percent.

Contrary to many of the other major presidential surveys such as the venerable Gallup Poll, which puts Mr. Obama's rating at about 60 percent or higher, Mr. Zogby's poll in mid-March showed Mr. Obama's job performance fell. His findings are significant for a number of definitional reasons and are worth a closer look.

In his most recent survey, the pollster said, “49 percent rate his job performance as excellent or good, and 50 percent as fair or poor (less than 1 percent were not sure).”

“That is a dip of three points from the previous poll,” Mr. Zogby said last week.

His numbers, as with other pollsters, show a huge partisan divide in how Americans rate Mr. Obama at this point in his young presidency. Ninety-one percent of Democrats score Mr. Obama favorably, compared to only 14 percent of Republicans.

On job performance alone, 87 percent of Democrats rate him as excellent or good, compared with just 9 percent of Republicans......

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/02/obamas-approval-rating-skids/

Was this before or After Obama bowed to the Saudi King?