Obama approval ratings

[nathanm]

A majority of the country wants it repealed, it was passed with help of a Louisiana Purchase and Cornhusker kickback from the most honest, most, and most ethical Congress evah, and without the "transparency" Mr. Hope and Change promised.

You got a link for that? Best I can see is that health care is currently polling +6 or so in favor. In June, an AP "kitchen sink" poll shows 60% approval for Obama's handling of health care.

That same poll shows that voters want Democrats in office more than Republicans (slightly) and trust Democrats more on the economy and health care, although the sample preferred Republicans on immigration and defense, despite them approving of Obama's handling of both Iraq and Afghanistan, but not immigration.

http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com/pdf/AP-GfK%20Poll%20June%20Topline%20SUP%20release%206.17.10.pdf

Incidentally, that was the first one I came across. I'm going to go see if I can find something as broad that is more recent.

Edited to add: The Kaiser poll in June (July isn't out yet) showed similar results. 48-41 in favor.

http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/8082.cfm

Interestingly, the biggest thing working against the law is the individual mandate. The other parts poll very favorably. So basically the public at large wants something for nothing. It's pretty shocking to see the support for individual elements even amongst self-identified Republicans, not to mention the greater support amongst Democrats and independents, which make up far more of the electorate.

Support for individual elements of the law reported in earlier tracking polls has not slipped; many remain very popular, including on a bipartisan basis. Those with support from strong, bipartisan majorities of Americans include the health insurance exchange (94% of Democrats (D) have a favorable view, 88% of independents (I), and 77% of Republicans (R)), tax credits to small business (89% D, 79% I, 79% R), assistance with the Medicare doughnut hole (96% D, 77% I, 71% R), high-risk pool for those with pre-existing conditions (85% D, 78% I, 67% R), and insurance subsidies for individuals (90% D, 73% I, 63% R). By far the least popular element asked about is the individual mandate, which is viewed favorably by about a third (34%) of Americans.

Edited again to add: Looking deeper, there's a clear trend of softening in the unfavorables on health care. Even among the unfavorables, a full third want to wait and see. Granted, the other two thirds want immediate repeal, but that's only 25% of the total sample. It's a complete non-starter. Give it up.

As far as to what effect it will have in November, there's again a slight advantage in favor of those who voted for HCR. Fully a third say it won't have any bearing on their vote. Also, 65% think that it's still being talked about in an attempt to gain political advantage, not because of any fundamental disagreement between the two parties (29%).

Looking all the way down to the favorable/unfavorables of the component parts, even the penalty to employers who don't provide health coverage is looked upon favorably (+5). Other than the individual mandate, the rest polled around +20 or even higher.

[guido911]

You got a link for that? Best I can see is that health care is currently polling +6 or so in favor. In June, an AP "kitchen sink" poll shows 60% approval for Obama's handling of health care.

I thought I posted that poll. Here it is:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/health_care_law

And btw, I hate polls because they generally are all over the place and many are skewed by political motivations. The ONLY reason I looked at this poll is that several news outlets were dumbfounded by the results.

[nathanm]

I think polling can be useful as a general indicator, but relying on a single poll leaves you in a bad spot. Better to look at all the polls you can find.

It is interesting that Rasmussen is so far off from the other polls that show mixed support for the legislation overall but little support for repeal. I'll have to see if I can find the exact wording used in the Rasmussen poll and see how it differs from the others.

[guido911]

I think polling can be useful as a general indicator, but relying on a single poll leaves you in a bad spot. Better to look at all the polls you can find.

It is interesting that Rasmussen is so far off from the other polls that show mixed support for the legislation overall but little support for repeal. I'll have to see if I can find the exact wording used in the Rasmussen poll and see how it differs from the others.

There are far better things to do with your time Nate. Let's just leave it at this:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/07/snl-takes-on-deeply-unpop_n_489002.html

[Townsend]

Obama Approval Rebounds as Congress Tanks

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/12/obama-advances-as-congress-tanks/

Aided by comparison to the vastly unpopular Congress, Barack Obama has advanced to a 49 percent job approval rating in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll - his best showing since spring, and one that, if it holds, that may put his re-election prospects back within reach.

The result continues an improving trend for the president amid some signs of economic gains. And it contrasts with both parties in Congress, embroiled in their latest game of political chicken. A mere 27 percent of Americans now approve of the Democrats in Congress, and just 20 percent approve of the Republicans – both new lows in ABC/Post polling back to 1994.

Obama's rating, while still (barely) under 50 percent, is up from his career-low 42 percent in October, and back at the level at which he could run competitively for a second term. George W. Bush had 47 percent approval as close as three months before he won re-election in 2004.

The question in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, is whether Obama's rating merely reflects blowback against the machinations of Congress. Its latest budget brouhaha put a possible government shutdown back on the table until Saturday, and still threatens extension of the current payroll tax cut. As much as he might like to run against Congress, Obama's actual opponent – the eventual GOP nominee – may be less of an easy mark.

As things stand, Obama's regained a substantial (now 15-point) advantage over the Republicans in Congress in trust to protect the middle class, 50-35 percent, after seeing his edge on the issue shrink to 4 points last month. He's also moved ahead in trust to handle taxes, 46-41 percent, after trailing in October; and runs about evenly in trust to handle the economy and job creation.

ECONOMY – While Obama gets just a 41 percent approval rating for handling the economy, that's numerically his best on the issue since April and 6 points above his career low in October. However, far more still "strongly" disapprove than strongly approve, by 43 to 17 percent, a negative intensity that puts him at risk. (He's also got an intensity deficit on overall approval, albeit at 9 points, a less garish one.)

Similar to the economy number, just 39 percent approve specifically of Obama's performance creating jobs, with 55 percent disapproving. Again, though, it's been worse, with disapproval having peaked at 62 percent in September. Unemployment slipped to less than  9 percent in November, and last week's Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, while still deeply depressed, reached its highest level  since July among Americans who hold full-time jobs.

Just more than half of Americans, 52 percent, are pessimistic about the economy overall. But 61 percent are optimistic about their personal financial prospects in the year ahead. And it makes a difference: The president's approval rating among people who are optimistic about their personal finances is 18 points higher than it is among pessimists, 55 percent  versus  37 percent.

The difference is even wider based on views of the future of the national economy more broadly. Among those who are optimistic about the economy in the year ahead  (disproportionately Democrats, it should be noted), 67 percent approve of Obama's performance as president. Among economic pessimists, that dives to 33 percent.

GROUPS – Obama continues to hang tough in his own party; 82 percent of Democrats approve of his job performance overall, compared with a mere 19 percent of Republicans. In the middle are independents, who've outnumbered both Democrats and Republicans continuously for the past 2½ years, an unprecedented period since ABC/Post polls began in 1981.

Forty-four percent of independents now approve of Obama's work, while 51 percent disapprove. That's a highly cautionary note for his re-election prospects, whatever his overall rating, given independents' customary role as the quintessential swing voters in presidential elections. Still, he's up by 10 points from a career-low 34 percent approval from independents in October. They've also fueled his advance in trust to protect the middle-class.

While the focus is on the top race, there also are challenging results for both parties – especially the GOP – in terms of congressional sentiment. Fifty-one percent of Democrats approve of their own party's performance in Congress; while hardly good, that's better than the GOP's rating, 38 percent approval, among its party's faithful.

Independents, meanwhile, scorch both parties, offering just 20 and 17 percent approval of the Democrats and Republicans in Congress, respectively. That could make it a hot political year ahead not just in the presidential race, but for incumbents of all stripes.

METHODOLOGY – This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone Dec. 15-18, 2011, among a random national sample of 1,005 adults, including landline and cell-phone-only respondents. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points for the full sample. The survey was produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates of New York, N.Y., with sampling, data collection and tabulation by Abt-SRBI of New York, N.Y

[Teatownclown]

Barack Obama is the first African-American President, get over it.