Poll: Obama Approval Rating Up Slightly

By: Stephanie Condon
Topics: Polling

CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.

Fewer than half of Americans approve of the job President Obama is doing, although his approval rating is slightly up since last month, according to a new CBS News poll. Nearly as many people disapprove of the job he is doing.

Mr. Obama's overall job approval rating has remained below 50 percent since April, and this month is no different. Now, 48 percent approve, while 44 percent disapprove, according to the poll, conducted Aug. 20 - 24. His approval rating has inched up from 44 percent last month, and is similar to what it was in June.

The president continues to receive net negative ratings on this handling of the economy - the nation's top concern. Forty-eight percent disapprove of his handling of it, while 44 percent approve.

Meanwhile, the poll shows views of the economy remain bleak: four in five Americans think it is bad, and now 34 percent say it is getting worse, an increase of eight points since last month.

While most Americans (59 percent) think the economy will eventually recover, more than a third think it is in permanent decline. A majority (75 percent) thinks the recession will continue another two years or more, similar to last month.

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Forty percent of Americans are very concerned that someone in their household may lose a job over the next year, up from 31 percent last month.

When asked who or what is to blame for high unemployment, 18 percent volunteered that politicians generally are at fault. Fifteen percent blamed the policies of former President Bush, while 5 percent blamed the policies of Mr. Obama. Seven percent blamed "outsourcing," while another 7 percent blamed business executives and CEOs.

The poll also found:

On the specific issues asked about in this poll, Mr. Obama receives his highest approval rating on his handling of Iraq - 52 percent of Americans approve of his handling of that issue.
Forty-three percent of Americans approve of the president's handling of Afghanistan; thirty-nine percent disapprove.
Fifty-six percent of Americans say the Bush tax cuts for people earning over $250,000 per year should be allowed to expire.
Americans are almost evenly divided as to whether the law should be changed so that babies born to illegal immigrants do not automatically become U.S. citizens. Forty-nine percent say the law should be kept as is, while 47 percent say it should be changed so that children born to illegal immigrants do not automatically become citizens.
Seventy-seven percent think the U.S. could be doing more to stop illegal immigrants from entering the country.
Forty percent of Americans think gays and lesbians should be allowed to marry legally, while three in 10 think they should be able to form civil unions.
Twenty-three percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of Sarah Palin, while 40 percent view her unfavorably.
Twenty-nine percent of Americans say they are supporters of the Tea Party movement.

More from the poll:

Poll: Most Think Some Bush Tax Cuts Should Expire
Poll: Americans Split over Birthright Citizenship
Poll: Nearly 3 in 10 Support Tea Party
Poll: Most Say New Orleans Deserves More U.S. Aid
Poll: Most Americans Say Iraq War Was a Mistake
Read the Complete Poll

This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1,082 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone August 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.

Stephanie Condon
Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com.
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by maurice-allen September 21, 2010 4:51 PM EDT

Here's the "accomplishments" of our last republican president:
* Attacked and took over two countries.
* Spent the surplus and bankrupted the treasury.
* Shattered records for biggest annual deficit in history.
* Set economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12 month period.
* Set all-time record for biggest drop in the history of the stock market.
* First president in decades to execute a federal prisoner.
* First president in US history to enter office with a criminal record.
* First year in office set the all-time record for most days on vacation by any president in US history.
* After taking the entire month of August off for vacation, presided over the worst security failure in US history.
* Set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips than any other president in US history.
* In his first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost their job.
*Cut unemployment benefits for more out of work Americans than any president in US history.
* Set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12 month period.
* Appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions than any president in US history.
* Set the record for the least amount of press conferences than any president since the advent of television.
* Signed more laws and executive orders amending the Constitution than any president in US history.
* Presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed.
* Presided over the highest gasoline prices in US history and refused to use the national reserves as past presidents have.
* Cut healthcare benefits for war veterans.
* Set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously take to the streets to protest (15 million people), shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of mankind.
* Dissolved more international treaties than any president in US history.
* His presidency is the most secretive and un-accountable of any in US history.
* Members of his cabinet are the richest of any administration in US history. (The 'poorest' multi-millionaire, Condoleezza Rice has an Exxon oil tanker named after her).
* First president in US history to have almost if not all 50 states of the Union simultaneously go bankrupt.
* Presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud of any market in any country in the history of the world.
* First president in US history to order a US attack and military occupation of a sovereign nation.
* Created the largest government department bureaucracy in the history of the United States.
* Set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any president in US history.
* First president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the human rights commission.
* First president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the elections monitoring board.
* Removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of congressional oversight than any presidential administration in US history.

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by maurice-allen September 21, 2010 4:52 PM EDT: Thats not all here's more:
* Rendered the entire United Nations irrelevant.
* Withdrew from the World Court of Law.
* Refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by default no longer abide by the Geneva Conventions.
* First president in US history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the 2002 US elections).
* All-time US (and world) record holder for most corporate campaign donations.
* His biggest life-time campaign contributor presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation).
* Spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in US history.
* First president in US history to unilaterally attack a sovereign nation against the will of the United Nations and the world community.
* First president to run and hide when the US came under attack (and then lied saying the enemy had the code to Air Force 1)
* First US president to establish a secret shadow government.
* Took the biggest world sympathy for the US after 911, and in less than a year made the US the most resented country in the world (possibly the biggest diplomatic failure in US and world history).
* With a policy of 'dis-engagement' created the most hostile Israeli-Palestine relations in at least 30 years.
* First US president in history to have a majority of the people of Europe (71%) view presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and stability.
* First US president in history to have the people of South Korea more threatened by the US than their immediate neighbor, North Korea.
* Changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.
* Set all-time record for number of administration appointees who violated US law by not selling huge investments in corporations bidding for government contracts.
* Failed to fulfill his pledge to get Osama Bin Laden 'dead or alive'.
* Failed to capture the anthrax killer who tried to murder the leaders of our country at the United States Capital building. After 18 months he had no leads and zero suspects.
* In the 18 months following the 911 attacks he successfully prevented any public investigation into the biggest security failure in the history of the United States.
* Removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than any other president in US history.
* In a little over two years created the most divided country in decades, possibly the most divided the US has ever been since the civil war.
* Entered office with the strongest economy in US history and in less than two years turned every single economic category heading straight down.


by aikfan321 September 6, 2010 2:45 PM EDT: It appears CBS can neither read or take polls. Maybe it is time for FOX to get my news; Reply to this comment


by redheadcutie September 2, 2010 4:08 PM EDT: How can you post a number like 48% approval? That is totally irresponsible in the face of compelling and conflicting information. Your company ran its own approval rating survey on line and 78% said he was failing as of Monday August 31. Why haven't you publicized that? That didn't even include my vote. I couldn't get the survey to work from my computer but saw it on a friend's computer. When will you publish that poll?; Reply to this comment


by wfw3536 August 30, 2010 12:09 AM EDT: Maybe if CBS conducted the polling right we would get accurate data. Asking a question like do you believe the economy will come back is grade school questioning as we all know it will once Obama leaves. How about asking folks if they think the economy will come back when Obama is in office.; Reply to this comment


by OldProfessor August 28, 2010 12:40 PM EDT: WOW!! We are making progress! 84 posts and only one poster called Obama a Muslim! That suggests that helen97068 is an Independent or she did not get the word from headquarters that approach was producing negative effects.; Reply to this comment


by stormerF3 August 27, 2010 2:08 PM EDT: And CBS wonders why their ratings are in the toilet?; Reply to this comment


by CapitalistInfidel August 27, 2010 1:20 PM EDT: There's a good reason to not believe this poll. CBS weighted the poll in favor of democrats. Republicans 26.1%, democrats 33.5%, independents 40.5%. A 7.4% advantage for democrats? The highest I've seen in the last 6 months is 3% from Gallup. Most have the advantage from 1% for Republicans to 2% for democrats. In reality if democrats had that 3% advantage Obama's approval rating would be around 44%; Reply to this comment


by Dave_P6 August 27, 2010 12:27 PM EDT: "by _-_One_American_-_ August 27, 2010 11:02 AM EDT
CBS makes a desperate attempt to prop up the Communist dictator Obama.

Nobody believes this fake poll - not even Obama's best supporters.

Bush was a real President - Obama is just a White House resident."

LMAO. You're such a redneck. You think Obama's a socialist because he reformed health care. Apparently you believe not turning people away for prexisting conditions and lowering drug costs is evil.

Obama is 10 times the president John McCain would have been and 20 times the President Bush was. You think things are tough now? I shudder to think where we'd be with a McCain/Palin administration. At least we're still adding jobs each month and the stock market is holdin steady. The Obama administration just needs to kick start the economy one more time and the way to do that is NOT to put Republicans back in charge.; Reply to this comment


by rob1182 August 27, 2010 12:25 PM EDT: CBS STINKS!!!! get out of bed with Obama and start telling ALL the news, not what you pick and choose for us to hear about him, you are one of the most pathetic news stations. WHERE DID YOU GET THESE NUMBERS FROM? OH, right you butt ki$$n never ends.; Reply to this comment


by dadirt August 27, 2010 12:18 PM EDT: What the hell for? Economy is in the crapper, budget has exploded and we are almost broke, stock market is in flux, GDP is not as high as some bean counter guessed, just like all the other statitics tht come out of the whitehouse administration. You don't need poles to see that this is the worst president we have ever had, even Carter! I assume the polsters have the phone numbers of the illegal aliens, poor blacks living on welfare, and whoever else believe Obama is our savior. If you don't pay taxes, you get no vote! We need this soon, or the people that pay the taxes and keep this country going wil be voting for nothing, while the non-productive bums of the country keep voting for free everything!; Reply to this comment