(05/22/12) -

Obama’s Approval Rating Inching Closer to 50% in United States

Congress gains points, but three-in-five Americans disapprove of its performance.

Practically half of Americans are satisfied with the performance of the incumbent president, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,012 American adults, 49 per cent of respondents approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his duties (+1 since March), while 46 per cent (-2) disapprove.

This month, Obama has his best marks in the Northeast (57%, +2) and his lowest numbers in the South (43%).

The level of strong approval for Obama increased by three points since March (19%), while the level of strong disapproval dropped by the same margin (30%).

Over the past two months, the approval rating for the U.S. Congress increased by two points to 17 per cent. Still, three-in-five Americans (75%, -2) remain unhappy with the performance of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Only two per cent of Americans strongly approve of their federal lawmakers, while 44 per cent strongly disapprove. This month, the worst rating for Congress is once again in the Midwest (13%) while the best is in the Northeast (23%).

Analysis

For the first time since July 2011, Barack Obama has a larger group of Americans approving of his performance than disapproving of it. The survey, conducted after the president made his pronouncement about same-sex marriage, also shows Obama connecting better with Democrats, whose level of strong approval increased by six points since March. On the other hand, more than half of Independents (54%) remain skeptical.

The rating for Congress has remained below the 20 per cent mark for almost one full year, with Democrats, Republicans and Independents continuing to voice displeasure with its actions.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

Methodology: From May 16 to May 17, 2012, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,012 American adults who are Springboard America panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of the United States. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.