Poll: Obama Ends First Year with 50% Approval Rating
President Obama completes his first year in office with his job approval rating rising in the past week to 50 percent now, according to a new CBS News poll. His handling of the U.S. response to the earthquake in Haiti receives widespread approval.
However, Mr. Obama's overall rating is lower than when he took office, according to the poll, conducted Jan. 14 – Jan. 17. A significant portion of the public says his administration has so far done too much for banks and not enough for small businesses or the middle class.
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Poll: Obama Wins High Marks for Haiti Earthquake Response
(AP)
Additionally, the poll, conducted Jan. 14 – Jan. 17, shows Americans believe that the U.S. has a responsibility to help in Haiti, where up to 200,000 deaths are being predicted due to the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit Port-au-Prince on January 12.
Eight in 10 Americans approve of Mr. Obama's response; just 8 percent disapprove. Unlike many political issues today, there is no partisan divide on this – Republicans, Democrats and independents all give the president strong marks, with at least three in four approving.
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Poll: Nearly Half of Americans Concerned about Alzheimer's
This poll was taken as part of CBS News' "Where America Stands" series, an in-depth look at where the country stands today on key topics and an outlook for the future decade.
Nearly half of Americans are concerned they may one day be afflicted with Alzheimer's, a brain disease that mainly affects older Americans, a new CBS News poll shows. Just as many say they don't expect a cure for the disease to be found in their lifetimes.
Just a quarter of Americans give the country a grade of A or B when it comes to finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease, according to the poll, which was conducted from Dec. 17 – 22, 2009. Thirty-nine percent give the country a C, and another 27 percent give it a D or F. There are no differences by age.
Fifty-four percent of Americans expect a cure for Alzheimer's to be found in their lifetime, but 44 percent do not expect to see that happen. Those age 65 and over are most pessimistic about a cure being found in their lifetime; 19 percent in that group say that is not at all likely.
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(CBS)
Just a quarter of Americans give the country a grade of A or B when it comes to finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease, according to the poll, which was conducted from Dec. 17 – 22, 2009. Thirty-nine percent give the country a C, and another 27 percent give it a D or F. There are no differences by age.
Fifty-four percent of Americans expect a cure for Alzheimer's to be found in their lifetime, but 44 percent do not expect to see that happen. Those age 65 and over are most pessimistic about a cure being found in their lifetime; 19 percent in that group say that is not at all likely.
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Poll: Obama Health Care Marks Hit New Low
(CBS)
Just 36 percent of Americans approve of Mr. Obama's handling of health care, according to the poll, conducted from Jan. 6 – 10. Fifty-four percent disapprove. In December of last year, 42 percent of Americans approved of the president's handling of health care, and 47 percent approved in October.
Yet things could be worse: With Democrats in Congress continuing to negotiate the terms of their comprehensive health care package, both Congressional Republicans and Democrats receive even lower marks than the president on the issue, the poll shows.
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Obama's Approval Rating Dips to New Low
(CBS)
President Obama's job approval rating has fallen to 46 percent, according to a new CBS News poll.
That rating is Mr. Obama's lowest yet in CBS News polling, and the poll marks the first time his approval rating has fallen below the 50 percent mark. Forty-one percent now say they disapprove of Mr. Obama's performance as president.
In last month's CBS News poll, 50 percent of Americans approved of how the president was handling his job, while thirty-nine percent disapproved.
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Poll: Most Americans Say Keep Gitmo Open
(CBS)
Fifty-five percent of Americans think the prison should be kept open, according to the poll, which was conducted from Jan. 6 – 10. Last November, by contrast, 50 percent of Americans thought the prison should remain open, and just 46 percent thought so in February 2009.
Just 32 percent of Americans think the facility ought to be closed and the prisoners there transferred somewhere else. That figure is down from 39 percent in November and 44 percent last February.
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Poll: Most Not Fully Confident in Food Safety
This poll was taken as part of CBS News' "Where America Stands" series, an in-depth look at where the country stands today on key topics and an outlook for the future decade.
Just one in three Americans are very confident that the food they buy is safe, a new CBS News poll finds – although the vast majority are at least somewhat confident that their food is safe.
Thirty-two percent say they are "very confident" about the safety of the food they buy, while 52 percent are "somewhat confident." The remaining 16 percent say they are not too confident or not at all confident in the safety of their food.
These results are reflected in the grades Americans give the country on ensuring the safety of the food supply. The most commonly offered grades were C, chosen by 34 percent of those surveyed, and B, chosen by 33 percent.
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(CBS)
Thirty-two percent say they are "very confident" about the safety of the food they buy, while 52 percent are "somewhat confident." The remaining 16 percent say they are not too confident or not at all confident in the safety of their food.
These results are reflected in the grades Americans give the country on ensuring the safety of the food supply. The most commonly offered grades were C, chosen by 34 percent of those surveyed, and B, chosen by 33 percent.
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Poll: Most Oppose Tax on Junk Food
This poll was taken as part of CBS News' "Where America Stands" series, an in-depth look at where the country stands today on key topics and an outlook for the future decade.
Most Americans want to lose weight, a new CBS News poll finds – but they do not favor a tax on junk food and do not believe that such a tax would help lower obersity.
The poll results reveal that the vast majority of Americans believe that obesity can be controlled. They do not feel, however, that the government should be imposing a tax on the foods most likely to make them obese. Sixty percent say they oppose such a tax, while 38 percent say it's a good idea.
The Senate has already considered a tax on soda and other sugary drinks, and President Obama has said he is open to such a tax. Yet Mr. Obama has acknowledged that there is resistance to such taxes.
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(CBS)
The poll results reveal that the vast majority of Americans believe that obesity can be controlled. They do not feel, however, that the government should be imposing a tax on the foods most likely to make them obese. Sixty percent say they oppose such a tax, while 38 percent say it's a good idea.
The Senate has already considered a tax on soda and other sugary drinks, and President Obama has said he is open to such a tax. Yet Mr. Obama has acknowledged that there is resistance to such taxes.
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Conservatives Outnumber Moderates, Liberals, Poll Shows
(CBS/AP)
Still, fewer than 41 percent of Americans identify as Republican or Republican-leaning -- eight points below the declining percentage of Americans who identify as Democrats or Democratic-leaning.
An aggregate of 21 Gallup and USA Today/ Gallup polls from 2009 show that 40 percent of Americans call themselves conservative, while 36 percent identify as moderate and 21 percent identify as liberal. In 2008, by contrast, moderates matched conservatives at 37 percent while 22 percent called themselves liberal.
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Poll: Most Say Military Not Ready to Face New Threat
(CBS)
Twenty-eight percent of Americans offered an A grade when asked to assess the condition of the military, while 39 percent gave it a B, the largest percentage for any letter.
Twenty-two percent, meanwhile, offered a C grade. Just five percent volunteered a D grade, and even fewer – two percent – gave the condition of the military an F.
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Poll: After 20 Years, Most Say New Job Skills Needed
(CBS)
Eight-seven percent said the skills needed in approaching the job market have changed since 1990, while just ten percent said they could get by with the same skills. These views were widely held by high- and low-wage earners, college and non-college graduates and all age groups.
With unemployment at ten percent, the majority of Americans are concerned about potential job losses in their households. Twenty-nine percent overall say they are very concerned, while another 34 percent are somewhat concerned. Just one in three say they are not concerned about household job loss.
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Poll: Fewer say They Have it Better Than Parents
(CBS)
Fifty-six percent of those surveyed said they are generally optimistic about the country's future, while 38 percent were pessimistic about the nation's prospects. That's slightly less optimism than CBS News found in 1996, when 59 percent were optimistic about the country's future and 31 percent were pessimistic.
Younger Americans are more optimistic than their older counterparts, and Democrats are more optimistic than Republicans: Nearly three in four Democrats are optimistic about America's future, while a majority of Republicans are pessimistic.
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Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Oppose GITMO Transfer
(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, file)
This may be problematic for President Obama, who plans to do just that. Earlier this week, it was announced that the federal government would acquire the Thomson Correctional Center (pictured at left), an underused state prison in the rural town of Thomson, Illinois, and use it to hold Guantanamo Bay detainees as well as federal prisoners.
Sixty-four percent of Americans said they opposed the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to U.S. prisons, and only 30 percent of Americans said they supported it. These numbers have remained fairly constant since May, when 32 percent believed detainees should be transferred to the U.S. and 65 percent did not.
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Poll Finds Support for Addressing Global Warming
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
According to the poll results, 40 percent of the American public believes that efforts to reduce global warming pollution would create jobs, and 46 percent believe that addressing climate change would boost the economy. Less than one in three said taking steps to address global warming would hurt the economy and mean fewer jobs.
In addition, three in four say they would support some kind of climate change legislation. But they are unwilling to spend their own money to make it happen: a majority, 59 percent, said they would not support a cap-and-trade bill if it meant having to pay $10 more for electricity each month.
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Poll: Recession Means Hardship for Many Unemployed
(CBS)
That's more than double the percentage of Americans overall who say the recession has brought hardship.
Among those who have been unemployed more than six months, the percentage who say their families are facing hardship rises to 58 percent.
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