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Obama's approval rating soars
2011-05-11
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's approval rating has hit its highest point in two years, 60 per cent and more than half of Americans now say he deserves to be re-elected, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll taken after US forces killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
In worrisome signs for Republicans, the president's standing improved not just on foreign policy but also on the economy, and independent Americans, a key voting bloc in the November 2012 presidential election - caused the overall uptick in support by sliding back to Obama after fleeing for much of the past two years.
Comfortable majorities of the public now call Obama a strong leader who will keep America safe. Nearly three-fourths or 73 per cent now say they are confident that Obama can effectively handle terrorist threats.
He also improved his standing on Afghanistan, Iraq and the United States' relationships with other countries.
Despite a sluggish recovery from the Great Recession, 52 per cent of Americans now approve of Obama's stewardship of the economy, giving him his best rating on that issue since the early days of his presidency, 52 percent also now like how he's handling the nation's stubbornly high 9 per cent unemployment.
The economy remains Americans' top issue.
Also, more Americans, 45 percent, up from 35 percent in March say the country is headed in the right direction. Still, about half or 52 percent say it's on the wrong track, meaning Obama still has work to do to convince a restive public to stay with the status quo.
However, Americans say they overwhelmingly approve of the military's handling of the risky nighttime mission in Abbottabad, Pakistan. But it has not changed public opinion on the war in Afghanistan, most still are opposed to it, and a big majority favors Obama's plan to withdraw all combat troops by 2014.
Overall, Obama's approval rating is up slightly from 53 percent in March and a 47 per cent low point following last fall's midterm congressional elections, in which Republicans won control of the House and gained seats in the Senate. It was 64 per cent in May 2009, just months after he was sworn into office.
Also, 53 percent now say he deserves to be re-elected, 43 per cent say he should be fired, making it the first time in an AP-GfK poll that more people say he should get a second term than not.
The Associated Press-GfK Poll was conducted May 5-9 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,001 adults nationwide and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.
Obama's approval rating soars
2011-05-11
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's approval rating has hit its highest point in two years, 60 per cent and more than half of Americans now say he deserves to be re-elected, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll taken after US forces killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
In worrisome signs for Republicans, the president's standing improved not just on foreign policy but also on the economy, and independent Americans, a key voting bloc in the November 2012 presidential election - caused the overall uptick in support by sliding back to Obama after fleeing for much of the past two years.
Comfortable majorities of the public now call Obama a strong leader who will keep America safe. Nearly three-fourths or 73 per cent now say they are confident that Obama can effectively handle terrorist threats.
He also improved his standing on Afghanistan, Iraq and the United States' relationships with other countries.
Despite a sluggish recovery from the Great Recession, 52 per cent of Americans now approve of Obama's stewardship of the economy, giving him his best rating on that issue since the early days of his presidency, 52 percent also now like how he's handling the nation's stubbornly high 9 per cent unemployment.
The economy remains Americans' top issue.
Also, more Americans, 45 percent, up from 35 percent in March say the country is headed in the right direction. Still, about half or 52 percent say it's on the wrong track, meaning Obama still has work to do to convince a restive public to stay with the status quo.
However, Americans say they overwhelmingly approve of the military's handling of the risky nighttime mission in Abbottabad, Pakistan. But it has not changed public opinion on the war in Afghanistan, most still are opposed to it, and a big majority favors Obama's plan to withdraw all combat troops by 2014.
Overall, Obama's approval rating is up slightly from 53 percent in March and a 47 per cent low point following last fall's midterm congressional elections, in which Republicans won control of the House and gained seats in the Senate. It was 64 per cent in May 2009, just months after he was sworn into office.
Also, 53 percent now say he deserves to be re-elected, 43 per cent say he should be fired, making it the first time in an AP-GfK poll that more people say he should get a second term than not.
The Associated Press-GfK Poll was conducted May 5-9 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,001 adults nationwide and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.
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