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

(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.

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Read The Complete Poll (PDF)

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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:

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).

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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.

[929rog]

This is why I stopped watching CBS and thier love affair with BHO. For me it comes down to this... What promises has he kept? what about the help to the middle class? I thing he said his tax cuts would be about $3600 a year, I go to Subway once a week and spend what I actually got. I'm all about hope but I don't have any now. Boy, we really needed to force the stimulous through and we still have seen little effect as most of the money has not been spent. It should be a crime what is happening right now but not matter what the chosen one does these major networks will report these same results. General Electric does alot more than make ovens and they have ALOT to gain by supporting BHO. Corrupt.

[cincipup]

This poll shows that people will approve of whoever the media tells them to approve of. Seeing as how the media conducts the survey on how the public views the president after it has prescribed to us what it deems fit as ?news?. Few if any can argue with the fact that our ?free? press comes with a hefty price. We pay with our trust. When we run out of trust we no longer have a way to control what happens behind the veil of secrecy in Washington and our elected officials are totally unrestrained..

[ghwab1949]

The Gallup April Survey has Obama after 100 days less popular than George W, Bush, Richard Nixon or Jimmy Carter. Popularity clearly does not mean much, but other than wishful thinking I am not sure Obama would do even as well as he is doing in popularity.

[bigsk8fan]

republicans are so brain dead. they prefer fear over hope. they want all the rest of the world to fear that we will attack them for absolutely no reason, just like we did to iraq. republicans are such degenerates.

this is just one more reason why americans overwhelmingly voted for barack obama and the democrats.

[Stop_the_crying]

The red states are sure to turn blue with envy over this good news. Cry me a river red states.

[doggysector]

Liberals are certainly the brain dead. They compare police and fire departments to socialism. Wow, that's a stretch. Of couse we need government to an exent, the government that the people determine, not the other way around. Hitler won popularity because he knew that people didn't care an iota for political freedom and he enacted federalized health care, paid for by private citizens in 1934. Sound familiar. Obama banks on the fact that people don't want to be free to starve, the same thing Hitler did. People want security not freedom. Comon you idiots. Wouldn't you rather be secure then free?

[doggysector]

Obama is much more popular as a world leader then Bush. Way more popular that there is simply no comparison.

Hitler was "popular" too. Who cares about popularity? I'm sure that Roosevelt was no popular with the guards at Buchenwald. I am sure that Patton was terrible unpopular with Himmler.

Truman was one of the most unpopular presidents and one of the most effective. So popularity means nothing and if Obama is popular with socialist Europe then that is bad for America. The way that I gage it the more Europe is pissed at us the better. France mad at us? Good.

[honestabe8]

Partisanship will be the death of this once great nation

[booboo68]

I woud like to know where they get the numbers for these polls. I have asked a lot of pepole when i call them or go out and none of them have been called on their opinion. It seems to me certain people are called and that is why he has a high ratings. CAuse if you call around here with unemployment to high and gas and food very high we would not give a good rating at all

[ianlou]

Good News!!!
It is time again for another GOP Speed Typing Lesson:

To help all you righties post in record time for the next four years, practice typing the following
Sentence Introduction 100 times:

The Liberals in charge...
The Liberals in charge...
The Liberals in charge...

Try some variations like:

Those d a m n Liberals in charge...
Those idiot Liberals in charge...
Those moronic Liberals in charge...

Who knows, this speed typing lesson may help you post your hate and disgust in record time for the next eight years or longer!

Good Luck!
Posted by cs4466 at 4:07 PM : Apr 7, 2009





Wow, I'm re-reading one of my old posts, saved and reposted by a fan of my writing!

I remember writing this a day two before the big election as mytoosense
Thanks cs4466, I'm flattered!

[cr8f]

Why do republicans label us as right or left still. I want policies that work ad don't care what they are caled.

Police and fire departments are socialist because they serve everyone. What do the Fox News lap dogs want private police and fire? That would be another disaster.

They think profit makes everything work better.

Because of them health care here costs double what it does anywhere else in the world.

[noloyalisti]

As a member of the Green Party, I do agree that both parties are bought and paid for by the ruling class. What I don't get is how so many people are willing to be complacent and thus complicit. Are they waiting to lose EVERYTHING to the rich? Time for general strikes and maybe"get rid of many of the institutions that run things and their physical belongings.

[oldschool561]

Thank you Stuart.
I believe that there is no fix to this anymore. We are going down the tubes and anything they will do now will just put a bandaid on it. It may prolong it for a while, but that is all. It does not matter whether Republicans or Democrats are in "power". THEY ARE ALL THE SAME.

[noloyalisti]

By the way, you can't expect to discuss ANY actual fact with a Republican. They believe whatever they want to believe, regardless of the truth, the facts, or the science. This is why they are sooooo easy to control by morons like Bush and McSame and McPalin. And they must be marshaled to do what is right.

[noloyalisti]

No Dems and Cons are NOT the same. Cons are in favor of endless war, torture and socialism for the rich. They are against rights for women and workers and are forever looking to demonize immigrants and foreigners. Everything they say is the opposite of what they actually believe and the have very little sense of right and wrong.

By the way it will be 8 years of Obama, not 4. By then, hopefully, there will be no more of the obsolete Republican "party".

[oldschool561]

And Bushs popularity rating is relevant to today how???
THAT WAS THEN AND THIS IS NOW. Quit trying to blame somebody. It is done. We are stuck with this man for FOUR years. Republicans or Democrats, it doesn't matter, they are all the same.
Stop talking about the past and think about our future!!!

[j_mcdonald-2009]

Not to mention that during Bush's second term he never had a single day of approval above 50%. Now THAT is a remarkable achievement.

[j_mcdonald-2009]

speakinup: "Bush had a rating of 90% when he was first in office."

No, at this stage in his presidency, he had a 55% approval rating, well below Obama.

Q: Are the Republicans on this site capable of getting ANY single fact straight?

[speakinup]

Bush had a rating of 90% when he was first in office.

And, Barry only get 66% ? Man, he must be a real dog.

[noloyalisti]

The Republican "party" and their followers have nothing good to say, no plan, and very little sense of reality. Whatever they say, they mean EXACTLY the opposite. The it all makes sense.

I just wish they would take their heads out of where the sun doesn't shine and join the living. Stop voting to give all your money to the rich. And for fake wars for "freedom" that is really about oil and greedy war profiteers taking our money.