Poll: Most Say Obama Lacks Plans on Spill, Jobs
CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.
CBS
Most Americans do not believe President Obama has a clear plan to deal with the oil spill in the Gulf, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll.
Just 32 percent say Mr. Obama has a clear plan to deal with the oil leak, while 59 percent (including 64 percent of Gulf coast residents) say he does not.
The numbers are not much better among those who watched the president's Oval Office speech on the spill last week, with 35 percent of that group saying he has a clear plan and 56 percent saying he does not.
The spill isn't the only issue on which the president is seen as lacking a plan of action: Just 41 percent say Mr. Obama has a clear plan for developing new sources of energy, while 45 percent say he has no clear plan. And when it comes to creating jobs, just 34 percent say he has a clear plan; 54 percent say he does not.
A majority of Americans - 61 percent - says the president's response to the oil spill was too slow. Just 31 percent say they have "a lot" of confidence in his ability to handle a crisis, though a majority has at least some confidence that he can do so. Since January, the percentage who says Mr. Obama has strong qualities of leadership has fallen from 70 percent to 62 percent.
Overall, 43 percent approve of Mr. Obama's handling of the oil spill, while 47 percent disapprove.
The president's overall approval rating stands at 47 percent, unchanged from one month ago. The percentage who disapproves of his performance has also held steady and now stands at 43 percent.
CBS
One in two Americans say they are not very or not at all confident that BP will compensate people affected by the spill. Just ten percent are very confident that the company will do so. Most Americans believe Mr. Obama has at least some control over BP making payments.
Continue »Poll: 9 in 10 Want Major Energy Policy Changes
CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.
Nine in 10 Americans -- including a majority of Republicans, Democrats and independents alike -- think U.S. energy policy either needs fundamental changes or to be completely rebuilt, a new CBS/ New York Times poll shows.
Just 6 percent think only minor changes are needed to the nation's energy policy, according to the poll, conducted June 16 - June 20.
In the wake of the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, many in Washington are once again discussing ways to wean the nation off of foreign oil and curb greenhouse gas emissions without raising energy costs. The Senate is stalled over the way forward, however, and it's unclear whether Democrats have the votes for the comprehensive plan they have been pushing.
Nearly all Americans think the U.S. is too dependent on other countries for its supply of oil, and nearly nine in 10 are at least somewhat concerned about that, the poll shows, including 56 percent who are very concerned.
Moreover, nearly half of Americans -- 45 percent -- would support an increased tax on gasoline to support the exploration of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. But most people -- 51 percent -- oppose such a tax.
Continue »Poll: Gulf Coast Residents Angry but Optimistic about Spill
CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.
Most Gulf Coast residents say the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is creating hardship in their life, a new CBS News/ New York Times poll shows, but optimism about the region's eventual economic and environmental recovery remains high among residents.
Anger runs high about the spill, CBS News and the New York Times found in interviews with residents of the coastal counties surrounding the Gulf in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. A majority of Gulf Coast residents (55 percent) -- and most Americans overall (56 percent) -- are angry about it, and an additional four in 10 are bothered by it.
The spill is perceived as having already impacted the area. Four in five Gulf residents say the spill has hurt their area at least some, including 54 percent who say it has hurt their communities a lot.
A third of coastal residents report a direct impact to themselves or their families. Another 32 percent see an indirect impact.
Four in 10 Gulf residents report at least some financial hardship arising from the spill. Still, most (59 percent) say they have experienced little or no financial hardship because of it.
Continue »Poll: Most Say Months Before Oil Stops Spewing
CBS
Sixty-four percent say oil will be spewing into the Gulf for at least several more months, including 16 percent who expect the leak to continue for a year or longer. Another seven percent believe the well will never be capped.
President Obama said last week he expects BP to be capturing "up to 90 percent" of the leaking oil "in the coming weeks and days."
Americans living in the Gulf coast region are even more pessimistic than Americans overall, with 22 percent expecting the leak to continue for a year or more and 11 percent saying it will never be capped.
Most do expect the Gulf's economy and environment to recover, however.
Continue »Poll: More Visibility, Less Disapproval For Gays
CBS
CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.
Seventy-seven percent of Americans now say they know someone who is gay or lesbian, a new CBS News poll finds - an increase of 35 percentage points since 1992, when a majority of Americans said they did not.
More than six in ten Americans say they have a close friend, work colleague or relative who is gay or lesbian. Just 22 percent say they do not know anyone at all who falls into that category.
The increasing visibility of gay and lesbian Americans appears to have contributed toward more positive perceptions of homosexual relations. Forty-three percent of Americans currently see homosexual relations between consenting adults as "wrong" - a drop of 19 percentage points from a Gallup poll taken in 1978.
There has been a slight decrease in the percentage of Americans who do not object to homosexual relations compared to January of last year, when 54 percent said they are not wrong. But nearly half (48 percent) still say they see nothing wrong with homosexual relations, an increase of 23 points from the 1978 poll.
Americans under 30 tend not to object to homosexual relations, while those over 65 are likely to disapprove of them. Democrats, liberals and (to a lesser extent) independents and moderates generally do not disapprove, while Republicans and conservatives generally do.
Those who know someone who is gay or lesbian are less likely to disapprove of homosexual relations than those who do not. More than half of those who know someone who is homosexual do not see homosexual relations between consenting adults as wrong. On the flip side, more than half of those who don't know anyone who is homosexual say such relations are wrong.
Continue »Poll: Majority Now Opposes More Offshore Drilling
CBS
CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.
With oil continuing to stream into the Gulf, a majority of Americans - 51 percent -- say the costs and risks of increased offshore drilling are too great, according to a new CBS News poll.
That's ten points higher than one month ago and an increase of 23 points from a poll taken in August 2008, when Republican rallies regularly broke out in chants of "drill, baby, drill."
In the new poll, 40 percent said they favor increased offshore drilling. That's a drop of five points from last week and 22 points from August 2008.
Most Americans believe that BP will ultimately be successful in stopping the flow of oil - 56 percent say yes, while 29 percent say no. They do not, however, expect it to happen anytime soon.
Among those who expect BP to stop the oil flow, just 32 percent expect it to happen in the next few weeks. Roughly half say it will be in the next few months, while 14 percent way it will take longer than that.
Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf
Continue »Poll: Obama, BP Should be Doing More on Gulf Spill
AP/CBS
CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.
A significant majority of Americans believe both President Obama and British Petroleum are not doing enough to clean up the massive oil spill that has spewed up to 46 million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico, according to a CBS News poll released Friday.
Sixty-three percent of those surveyed said the Obama administration should be doing more in response to the spill, while 28 percent believe the government is doing all it can. BP scored slightly worse - 70 percent feel the company should be doing more while 24 percent believe it's doing everything possible to contain the crisis.
However, while the poll indicates Americans believe more should be done, the overall approval ratings for the Obama administration and BP are little changed from a similar poll last week, if slightly improved.
Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf
Forty-four percent of respondents disapprove of the White House's handling of the spill, with 38 percent satisfied with the government's response. Those figures were 45 percent and 35 percent, respectively, a week ago.
Poll: Support for Health Care Reforms Increases
Public support for President Obama's health care reforms has increased since they were signed into law in March, a new CBS News poll shows - 43 percent of Americans now support the measures, up from 32 percent.
However, more Americans - 47 percent - still disapprove of the new laws, according to the poll, conducted May 20 - 24. That's down from March, when 53 percent disapproved of the changes.
Approval of the bill has risen among Democrats, from 52 percent to 72 percent, as well as among independents, from 27 percent to 39 percent. Support among Republicans has stayed about the same at 14 percent.
The administration has tried to put some of the reforms into action quickly since the legislation was signed into law, so Americans would notice their impact.
Yet while support has generally gone up, there has been no change in how people expect health care reform will affect them personally. By more than two to one, Americans think it will hurt (36 percent) rather than help them (16 percent). Four in 10 expect it to have no effect.
More from the poll: Poll Finds Americans Pessimistic, Dissatisfied with Washington
Poll: 70% Say BP Handling Oil Spill Badly
Poll: Most Americans Still Unfamiliar with Elena Kagan
Poll: Most Still Support Arizona Immigration Law
Poll: Public Opinion of Democratic Party at All-Time Low
Read the Complete Poll
This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1054 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone May 20-24, 2010. Phone numbers were dialed from random digit dial samples of both standard land-line 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.
Poll Finds Widespread Frustration with Washington
CBS
CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.
Americans are frustrated with nearly everyone in Washington - including President Obama, Congress, and the Democratic and Republican parties - and have become increasingly pessimistic about what the future holds, according to a new CBS News poll.
Seven in ten Americans are dissatisfied with the way things are going in Washington, including 22 percent who say they are "angry" about the situation. Just 15 percent overall approve of the job being done by Congress.
Opinions of both parties, meanwhile, are at or near historic lows: 55 percent of those surveyed hold unfavorable views of Republicans, and 54 percent hold unfavorable views of Democrats.
The president's job approval rating has fallen to 47 percent, and, perhaps more crucially, Americans no longer say he shares their priorities for the country.
The percentage that says Mr. Obama shares their priorities has fallen to 45 percent, a drop of 13 points from October. The percentage who says he does not has risen to 47 percent, up from 38 percent seven months ago.
The discontentment is tied to widespread dissatisfaction with Washington economic policy. Just 13 percent say Mr. Obama's economic programs, among them the massive economic stimulus package, have helped them personally. Eighteen percent say they have hurt, while two in three say there has been no effect.
Fifty-nine percent say Wall Street has undue influence in Washington, and a majority says the stock market unfairly benefits the rich; most oppose the government bailouts for banks and automakers, though they back support for struggling homeowners. Eight in ten say the economy is in bad shape.
Looking ahead, one in two Americans say that life for the next generation will be worse than it is now, up from 32 percent last March. Just one in five expects it to be better.
More from the poll: Poll: 70% Say BP Handling Oil Spill Badly
Poll: Most Americans Still Unfamiliar with Elena Kagan
Poll: Most Still Support Arizona Immigration Law
Poll: Support for Health Care Reforms Increases
Poll: Public Opinion of Democratic Party at All-Time Low
Views of Washington:
Continue »Poll: Public Opinion of Dem Party at All-Time Low
Americans are dissatisfied with both major political parties, but the public's approval of the Democratic Party is at its lowest level ever, a new CBS News poll shows.
Favorable views of the Democratic Party dropped 20 points in the past year to 37 percent, according to the poll, conducted May 20 - 24. Last month, the party's favorability rating stood at 42 percent.
Fifty-four percent of Americans have a negative view of the Democrats, the poll shows.
Republicans have a similarly low favorability rating at 33 percent. That figure, however, is up from 28 percent - the historic low the party received last June. Fifty-five percent of Americans have a negative view of the Republican Party.
Seventy-seven percent of Americans now disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job - the highest ever in a CBS News poll.
More from the poll: Poll Finds Americans Pessimistic, Dissatisfied with Washington
Poll: 70% Say BP Handling Oil Spill Badly
Poll: Most Americans Still Unfamiliar with Elena Kagan
Poll: Most Still Support Arizona Immigration Law
Poll: Support for Health Care Reforms Increases
Read the Complete Poll
This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1054 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone May 20-24, 2010. Phone numbers were dialed from random digit dial samples of both standard land-line 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.
Poll: Most Still Support Arizona Immigration Law
Most Americans see illegal immigration as a very serious problem, a new CBS News poll shows - a figure that has held steady over the past four years.
Now, 56 percent of Americans say it is a very serious problem, according to the poll, conducted May 20 - 24. An additional 28 percent called it a somewhat serious problem. Only 14 percent said it was not too serious of a problem or not a problem.
Last month, when Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed a controversial immigration bill into law, the percentage of Americans calling immigration a very serious problem increased to 65 percent.
But by comparison, 56 percent also called illegal immigration a very serious problem in December, 2007, while 54 percent said the same in October, 2006.
The new Arizona law gives police the power to question someone they have already stopped, detained or arrested about their legal status in the country, and requires people to produce documents verifying their status if asked. About half of Americans (52 percent) see the new Arizona law as about right, the poll shows. Twenty-eight percent think it goes too far, and 17 percent think it does not go far enough.
Continue »Poll: Most Americans Still Unfamiliar with Elena Kagan
Just under half of Americans have been following news about the appointment of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, a new CBS News poll finds. Still, more than seven in 10 Americans have not yet formed an opinion of her - which is not unusual this early in the nomination process.
Now, 16 percent have a favorable view of Kagan, according to the poll, conducted May 20 - 24. Eleven percent have an unfavorable view.
President Obama nominated Kagan earlier this month to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. As solicitor general, Kagan has served as the federal government's top lawyer. If confirmed by the Senate, she will be the fourth woman to ever join the Supreme Court.
Continue »Poll: 70% Say BP Handling Oil Spill Badly
CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.
As oil continues gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, Americans polled by CBS News have expressed frustration with both the global oil giant operating the deep sea well and President Obama for their handling of the environmental disaster.
Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf
Only 18 percent of those polled said they approved of how British Petroleum PLC, which was leasing the Deepsea Horizon Rig when it erupted in a ball of flames and sank, was acting in response. An overwhelming majority -- 70 percent -- said they disapproved.
President Obama fared slightly better, with 45 percent saying they disapproved of his handling of the crisis. That still represents an overall negative rating, however, as only 35 percent said they approved of his words and deeds since the disaster struck.
One in five of those questioned about the government and BP's handling of the oil spill said they had no opinion.
There is a significant political divide over this question, with most Republicans saying they favor further drilling, while most Democrats and independents did not.
This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1,054 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone May 20-24, 2010. Phone numbers were dialed from random digit dial samples of both standard land-line 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.
Poll: Support for More Oil Drilling Plummets
CBS
Poll analysis by Sarah Dutton of the CBS News Polling Unit.
In the wake of the growing environmental disaster brought about by the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, Americans have turned far less supportive of increased drilling for oil and natural gas off the U.S. coastline, according to a new CBS News survey.
Forty-six percent of Americans now say the support offshore drilling - a 16 point drop from the 64 percent who backed such drilling back in July of 2008, when "drill, baby, drill" was an oft-chanted Republican campaign slogan.
Forty-one percent, meanwhile, say the costs and risks of offshore drilling are too great - up from 28 percent in the summer of 2008.
The Obama administration ended the moratorium on new offshore drilling off some coastal areas prior to the collapse of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig site, though no new drilling had yet been authorized. It has vowed not to authorize new drilling until the cause of the Gulf leak is clear.
Meanwhile, a carefully-crafted climate and energy bill may stall in the Senate in part because even those Republicans open to the legislation are unlikely to back a bill that does not include expanded offshore drilling. The spill has prompted some Democrats to come out strongly against including expanded drilling in the bill.
The survey suggests a correlation between opinions on increased offshore drilling and party identification. Sixty-three percent of Republicans still favor new drilling, while 29 percent say the costs and risks are too great.
By contrast, just 34 percent of Democrats back increased drilling, while 55 percent oppose it. (Independents are nearly split, with 45 percent in favor and 39 percent opposed.)
Continue »One in Three Birthers Supports Obama, Poll Finds
CBS/AP
Now this is surprising: According to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll, about one in three so-called "birthers" - those who erroneously believe President Obama was born outside of the United States - nonetheless approve of the president's job performance.
Fourteen percent of those surveyed in the poll volunteered that Mr. Obama was born in another country, a figure that rose to 20 percent when pollsters explicitly offered that as a possibility.
That means roughly one in five Americans could be considered a birther, according to the poll. It showed that about one in three conservatives and Republicans believe the president was born abroad. Fifteen percent of Democrats agree.
Yet it's worth noting that about half of these birthers cast their position as just suspicion, not a firm belief. The rest (about nine percent of Americans overall) say there is "solid evidence" that the president was born abroad.
As has been repeatedly shown, Mr. Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961. Birthers have suggested that Mr. Obama is not eligible for the presidency because he fails the constitutional requirement that the holder of the office be a natural born citizen.
Continue »