Polls & Research

President Obama Keeps High Numbers in U.S

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many American adults hold a positive view of the way Barack Obama is handling his duties, according to a review of 11 recent public opinion polls. In a survey by Diageo/Hotline, 67 per cent of respondents approve of the performance of the United States president.

In studies conducted by Ipsos, Opinion Research Corporation, Opinion Dynamics, CBS News and Hart/McInturff, at least three-in-five respondents approve of Obama’s performance.

The U.S. president does not reach the 60 per cent mark in polls by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, Public Opinion Strategies / Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, Princeton Survey Research Associates International and RT Strategies

In American elections, candidates require 270 votes in the Electoral College to win the White House. In November 2008, Democratic nominee Obama secured a majority of electoral votes, defeating Republican candidate John McCain. On Jan. 20, Obama became the first African American president in U.S. history.

Yesterday, Obama discussed his energy policies, saying, "In the next three years, we will double this nation’s supply of renewable energy. We have also made the largest investment in basic research funding in American history—an investment that will spur not only new discoveries in energy, but breakthroughs in science and technology. We will invest fifteen billion dollars a year to develop technologies like wind power and solar power; advanced biofuels, clean coal, and more fuel-efficient cars and trucks that are built right here in America."

Polling Data

a) Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?

	Mar. 2008	Jan. 2008
Approve	67%	63%
Disapprove	27%	9%
Unsure	6%	29%

Source: Diageo/Hotline
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 900 American registered voters, conducted from Feb. 28 to Mar. 2, 2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

b) Overall, do you approve, disapprove or have mixed feelings about the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?

	Mar. 9	Feb. 9
Approve	65%	69%
Disapprove	29%	26%
Mixed	5%	3%
Unsure	1%	1%

Source: Ipsos / McClatchy Newspapers
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,070 American adults, conducted from Mar. 5 to Mar. 9, 2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

c) Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?

	Mar. 15	Feb. 19	Feb. 8
Approve	64%	67%	76%
Disapprove	34%	29%	23%
Unsure	3%	4%	1%

Source: Opinion Research Corporation / CNN
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,019 American adults, conducted from Mar. 12 to Mar. 15, 2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

d) Do you approve or disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing as president?

	Mar. 2009	Feb. 2009
Approve	63%	60%
Disapprove	26%	26%
Unsure	11%	14%

Source: Opinion Dynamics / Fox News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 900 American registered voters, conducted on Mar. 3 and Mar. 4, 2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

e) Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?

	Mar. 16	Feb. 22	Feb. 4
Approve	62%	63%	62%
Disapprove	24%	22%	15%
Unsure	14%	15%	23%

Source: CBS News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,142 American adults, conducted from Mar. 12 to Mar. 16, 2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

f) In general, do you approve or disapprove of the job that Barack Obama is doing as president?

Approve	60%
Disapprove	26%
Unsure	14%

Source: Hart/McInturff / Wall Street Journal / NBC News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,007 registered American voters, conducted from Feb. 26 to Mar. 1, 2009. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.

g) Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?

Approve	59%
Disapprove	25%
Unsure	16%

Source: Quinnipiac University Polling Institute
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,007 American adults, conducted from Feb. 25 to Mar. 2, 2009. Margin of error is 1.9 per cent.

h) Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?

	Mar. 12	Feb. 8
Approve	59%	64%
Disapprove	26%	17%
Unsure	15%	19%

Source: Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,308 American adults, conducted from Mar. 9 to Mar. 12, 2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

i) Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?

Approve	59%
Disapprove	35%
Unsure	6%

Source: Public Opinion Strategies / Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research / National Public Radio
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 800 American likely voters, conducted from Mar. 10 to Mar. 12, 2009. Margin of error is 3.5 per cent.

j) Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?

Approve	58%
Disapprove	26%
Unsure	16%

Source: Princeton Survey Research Associates International / Newsweek
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,203 American adults, conducted from Mar. 4 to Mar. 5, 2009. Margin of error is 3.5 per cent.

k) Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing as president?

Approve	57%
Disapprove	28%
Neither / Mixed	8%
Unsure	7%

Source: RT Strategies / Cook Political Report
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,203 American adults, conducted from Feb. 27 to Mar. 1, 2009. Margin of error is 3.5 per cent.