Poll Cites Concern Over Economy, Health Care

President Obama’s approval rating is falling amid concerns about the U.S. economy and his push to revamp the U.S. health-care system, a Quinnipiac University poll shows.

Exactly half of the registered voters surveyed from July 27 to August 3 by Quinnipiac said they approve of the job Obama is doing, compared with 42 percent who disapprove. That’s down from 57 percent approval and 33 percent disapproval in a poll taken in late June.

Americans are upset about rising unemployment and worried that health-care plans making their way through Congress will add to the U.S. budget deficit, said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Hamden, Connecticut-based polling institute. The combination has helped drive down the president’s ratings.

A “willingness to give him the benefit of the doubt is, among some voters, evaporating,” Brown told reporters in Washington yesterday.

The poll found that voters disapprove of the way Obama is handling the economy by 49 percent to 45 percent. On his effort to overhaul of the health-care system, 52 percent disapprove of his handling of the issue while 39 percent approve.

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CBS: Obama Approval Rating Hits New High

From CBS ~ As President Obama concludes his well-publicized trip to Europe, his approval rating has reached a new high, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll.

Obama's overall approval rating is at 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.

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Rasmussen: Obama's Approval Rating Falls

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 34% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-one percent (31%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of +3, matching his lowest rating to date.

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Obama Approval Matches Highest To Date

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval Index for Thursday shows that 42% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way Barack Obama is handling the role of President-elect while 14% Strongly Disapprove. Those figures give Obama a +28 rating, matching his highest level of support to date.

[Obama thus far appears unscathed by the scandal swirling around Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and his alleged attempts to sell Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder.]

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Rasmussen: Obama Gets 'Rave Reviews'

From Rasmussen Reports ~ Barack Obama is getting rave reviews for his performance as President-elect. Forty-two percent (42%) of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way he is handling that role while just 15% Strongly Disapprove.

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Obama Approval-Disapproval 60-37%

From Rasmussen Reports ~ Three weeks after his November 4 victory, President-elect Barack Obama’s approval rating has reached a new high (60-37 percent) at the same time that investor confidence has fallen to record lows.

Ratings for Congress improved a point following the legislators’ rejection of an auto-industry bailout, but the improvement raises approval to just 11 percent.

Forty-three percent (43%) of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way Obama is performing his role as President-elect while 20% Strongly Disapprove. Those figures give Obama a +23 rating in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval Index. That’s a point higher than his previous best and up fifteen points since the night after the election (see trends).

The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve. Rasmussen Reports believes that this is a better measure of public perceptions than the overall approval ratings. Overall, 60% of voters somewhat or strongly approve of Obama’s performance so far while 37% disapprove.

By way of comparison, 13% of all voters Strongly Approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president. Forty-three percent (43%) Strongly Disapprove. That gives the current President a -30 rating on the Presidential Approval Index.

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Rasmussen: Obama Approval Climbs

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval Index for Thursday shows that 41% Strongly Approve of the way Barack Obama is performing his role as President-elect while 19% Strongly Disapprove for a net rating of +22. That's Obama's highest rating yet, up twelve points since the night after the election.

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Rasmussen: Obama At 61-37% Approval

Rasmussen Reports finds President-elect Barack Obama with an approval rating of 61-37 percent today. Voters are looking for bipartisan co-operation in the Obama era, the firm reports, adding, "However, A plurality believe that Obama will govern as a partisan Democrat."

Rasmussen puts Obama's approval rating at +20 percent today; that is based on the difference between those who strongly approve and those who strongly disapprove of him. Rasmussen says it believes this is a more fair way to gauge approval than the usual method of combining those with strong feelings and those with not-so-strong feelings.

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Rasmussen: Obama At +20% Approval

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval Index for Saturday shows Barack Obama inching up to his highest level since winning the White House on Election Day. Obama's rating moved up two points on Saturday to +20 rating, a twelve point improvement since the night after the election.

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Obama Continues Strong Approval Rating

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval Index for Thursday shows Barack Obama holding solid in the transition period with a +18 rating. That's the same as Wednesday and a step up from +8 on the night after the election.

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Obama's Approval Rating Continues Up

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval Index for Wednesday shows Barack Obama doing very well early in the transition with a +18 rating. That's up from +8 on the night after the election. Obama's numbers are rising as consumer and investor confidence in the economy falls to record lows.

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Rasmussen: Obama's Approval Rises

From Rasmussen Reports ~ The tone set by President-elect Barack Obama in the days following his historic electoral victory has been well received by the American people and his Approval ratings are moving up.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval Index for Sunday shows Obama at +16. That’s up from +12 yesterday and +8 on the night after the election. The Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve. Rasmussen Reports believes that this is a better measure of public perceptions than the overall approval ratings.

Currently, 42% of voters nationwide Strongly Approve of the way that Obama is handling his new role as President-elect while 26% Strongly Disapprove. The number who Strongly Disapprove is down six percentage points since the night after the election (see trends).
Overall, 56% of voters somewhat or strongly approve of Obama’s performance so far while 39% disapprove.

Fifty-two percent (52%) of voters had a positive reaction to Obama’s first press conference following the election. Forty-seven percent (47%) say Obama will do a good or an excellent job on national security issues.

On the night following the election, 24% of voters said the nation was heading in the right direction. That figure has dropped a point a day to 21% today. Still, that’s up from 14% on the morning of Election Day.

There has been, not surprisingly, a dramatic shift in the partisan assessment of the country’s direction. Just before the election, 27% of Republicans thought the country was heading in the right direction. That has fallen to 14% today.

On the other hand, the number of Democrats who say the country’s heading in the right direction jumped from 6% pre-election to 30% today.

Among unaffiliated voters, the change has been less dramatic, from 11% saying right direction on Tuesday morning to 16% today.

Consumer and investor confidence has fallen since Election Day and partisan changes are evident in those figures as well. Fifty-two percent (52%) of voters believe that the government needs to do more on the economic front. But, at the same time, voters are concerned that the government will end up doing too much.

Polling released yesterday shows that 55% believe Congress is doing a poor job.

By way of comparison, 14% of all voters Strongly Approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president. Forty-six percent (46%) Strongly Disapprove. That gives the current President a -32 rating on the Presidential Approval Index.

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Obama Approval-Disapproval: 41-29%

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval Index for Saturday shows that 41% of voters nationwide Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is handling his new role as President-elect. Twenty-nine percent (29%) Strongly Disapprove.

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