The Latest AP-GFK Poll.

http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com/pdf/AP-GfK_Poll_Release_1_Topline_12.15.09.pdf

WASHINGTON – Budget deficits are in the stratosphere. Unemployment has hit 10 percent. The health care overhaul is incomplete.

Still, Americans appear to like President Barack Obama and the way he's doing his job.

The latest Associated Press-Gfk poll shows the president's popularity holding steady, with 56 percent of those polled approving of the way he's taking care of the country's business. His marks for handling the 8-year-old war in Afghanistan have jumped by double digits, with more than half now approving, since he capped a three-month strategy review by announcing a big troop increase.

But despite his prime-time TV speech explaining how he reached his decision to boost U.S. forces in Afghanistan to 100,000, and begin bringing them home in July 2011, there was no change in the public's resistance to escalation. Just 42 percent favor sending more troops while 56 percent oppose it, essentially unchanged from November.

The findings suggest limits to Obama's persuasive skills — and underscore what's seemingly become the public's default position in his first year in office: People like him, but they're squeamish about his policy.

"These were tough decisions this guy had to make," said Steve Pollaro, 67, a bus driver from Torrance, Calif., praising Obama for showing leadership. But Pollaro, a registered Republican who calls himself a recent Democratic convert, is lukewarm at best on the new strategy itself. He opposes a public timeline for beginning a withdrawal and reluctantly backs the troop increase — on grounds that Obama knows more than he does.

Others, like Democrat Scott Hanson, 30, a state employee from Duluth, Minn., give Obama a thumbs-up for leading on Afghanistan but are absolutely against the escalation. Said Hanson, "I just don't feel that threatened, so I don't think we really need 30,000 more troops."

And there still are a large number of people who feel just the opposite. Take independent Larry Sass, 62, a UPS store manager from East Hartford, Conn., who says, "It's good he sent the troops, but he took too long to do it and I wish he would show more backbone."

Overall, most people — and most of Obama's fellow Democrats — don't think Afghanistan is a conflict worth fighting. But Obama is pressing ahead despite such polling. He told CBS' "60 Minutes" that he ordered more troops "because I think it's the right thing to do. And that's my job. If I was worried about what polled well, there are a whole bunch of things we wouldn't have done this year."

The poll respondents' conflicting viewpoints reflect the complexity of the issues surrounding Afghanistan and underscore the challenge the novice commander in chief faces as he seeks to persuade a skeptical Congress to continue paying for war and an impatient public to stick with him heading into his first midterm congressional election year.

In some good news for Obama, more people said the country is heading in the right direction, 46 percent compared with just 38 percent last month. And the increase is evident among Republicans, Democrats and independents.

Nonetheless, half the country still says the nation is on the wrong track, and 42 percent don't approve of how Obama is governing. Those results could prove problematic for a White House looking to advance an ambitious agenda next year and to Democrats seeking to retain control of the House and Senate. Congress' marks remain low, with only one-third of the country approving of how it's doing and two-thirds disapproving.

Although the national debate over health care has been heated, there was little to no change from November in the public's attitudes on the proposals being discussed — 44 percent oppose them while 36 percent support them. And only half the country approves of Obama's handling of the issue.

The greatest shifts over the past month came on Afghanistan.

Since November, the president has completed a lengthy review of his Afghanistan policy and announced he will send 30,000 more troops into the war, at a cost of $30 billion for the first year alone. He mapped out the strategy and explained his decision in a prime-time speech at the U.S. Military Academy. He said a drawdown would begin in 18 months, but he set no target date for ending the war.

Obama's approval rating on Afghanistan stands at 52 percent — up a whopping 10 percentage points from November — while the percentage of those who disapprove dropped to 40 percent from 48 percent. Obama has improved his standing among members of both major political parties: 70 percent of Democrats and 39 percent of Republicans now approve of his handling of Afghanistan, increases of 9 and 19 points, respectively, from last month.

Even so, only 39 percent of Americans overall favor the Afghanistan war, while 57 percent oppose it — roughly unchanged over the past six months.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091217/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_ap_poll_obama_afghanistan

polls are like behinds,, everyone has one,,,or is that opinions?

lol, in any case,, they change from day to day

Realllly,,

How do you like these numbers?

As recent polling makes clear, the American people want common-sense solutions not the Republican Party of No's obstruction, lack of ideas, and commitment to the failed policies of the past. Republicans should stop banking on failure, roll up their sleeves, and start working with the President and Congressional Democrats to turn the economy around.

As NBC reported, "Buried inside all three polls is this finding: Opinions about the Republican Party are at an all-time low. What's more, according to the ABC/WashPo survey, Americans trust Obama more than congressional Republicans on health care (55%-27%), the economy (55%-31%), the deficit (56%-30%), and combating terrorism (55%-34%). To put it simply, the GOP's take on Obama's poll numbers is a lot like the owner of a 1987 Buick pointing out the dents and potential engine trouble of a 2008 BMW sedan."

Below is a round up of the four most recent nonpartisan polling showing Republicans' approval rating at an all time low.


NYT/CBS - "Republicans have steadily increased their criticism of Mr. Obama, particularly on the budget deficit, the poll found that the Republican Party is view favorably by only 28% of those polled, the lowest rating ever in a New York Times/CBS News poll." [NYT/CBS, 6/17/09]

NBC/WSJ - "The public doesn't blame Obama for the deficit or the economy -- that honor instead goes to the previous Republican administration. Moreover, 72% believe the current state of the economy is something the president inherited. Indeed, the Republican Party finds itself at all-time lows in our poll (25% positive rating) and in the NYT/CBS one (28%)." [NBC's First Read, 6/18/09]

Pew Research - "The job approval of Republican leaders in Congress remains at near record lows. Currently, 29% approve of the job Republican leaders in Congress are doing, while a majority (56%) disapproves. Approval ratings are little changed from March when Republican leaders received their lowest approval marks (28%) since Pew Research first began tracking the question in 1994. [Pew Research, 6/18/09]

Washington Post/ABC News - "The survey found the favorability ratings of congressional Republicans at their lowest point in polls dating back more than a decade. Obama also has significant advantages over Republican lawmakers in terms of public trust on dealing with the economy, health care, the deficit and the threat of terrorism, all despite broad-based GOP criticism of his early actions on these fronts." ... The state of the Republican Party remains grim. Just 22 percent of those surveyed identified themselves as Republicans, near April's decades-long low point." [Washington Post/ABC News, 6/22/09]

http://dccc.org/blog/archives/republican_approval_ratings_at_all_time_low/

I checked the polls. The results are real, but were hidden and not widely reported.

I found the Democrats in congress were rated consistently higher than their Republican counterparts.
37% to 27%

My Giddyup Poll says 98% of all Patriotic Americans believe 99% of the Politicians are crooks, including your Savior-in-Chief.

Taking a closer at the poll you posted Fanta, I thought the first 2 questions were telling it all.

The first question asks :

'... Generally speaking, would you say things in this country are heading in the right direction or in the wrong direction? ...'

To which the majority answers that the country is headed in the wrong direction.

The second question asks:

'... Overall, please tell me whether you approve, disapprove, or neither approve nor disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president...'

To which the majority answered that they approve of the way the President is handling the situation.

People are clear that the country WAS, at the time of Obama taking office, and STILL IS headed in the wrong direction (less so, but all is far from fixed),
... but that the President in place is doing an effective job, over his short time in office, of correcting the situation, and bringing the nation back in the right direction.


'Some of the people' will always be idiots,
... but 'all of the people' will always be the wisdom of a nation.

I didnt vote for him

some things he's done I dont like and some things he's done I do

overall I think he's doing okay

thats just my mini poll of one

Me too, but that poll result is subject to change, on a day-to-day basis.

I agree, but people; esp the uninformed, are susceptible to propaganda. Lord knows the Republicans are good at taking advantage of, and count on, the uninformed susceptible minds.
You can tell this by the up and down numbers reflected by polls.

All in all it would take a great mistake for Obama's ratings to ever reach the low that Bush's did. If anything the Republican's constant unanimous obstructions in congress will take a toll on their party's ratings. People will begin to see through their propaganda of lies.
I have the greatest confidence that Obama's policies will begin to show results. The unanswered question is; what will the Republicans say then?
How will they defend their actions?

I suspect we will soon begin to see defections from their wholesale rhetoric!

I hear ya'.
My mini pole is constantly up and down and sometimes just swings side to side.

The result saying that people were clear about the country heading in the wrong direction may not be as clear as it appears.

Couldn't that answer reflect the fact that the Republicans continue to block all Obama's efforts?
I myself am not to happy that they continue to block all attempted to add a public option to the health-care bill. I'm sure many others feel the same.
The answer concerning the right or wrong direction the country is taking is most likely a universal answer, and reflects more on congress than Obama. It may indeed reflect more on the Republican Congress's tactics.

polls are always written on an agenda and it doesn't surprise me that the opposition are making excuses about this one. For instance, i took part in the so called survey of american muslims that asked about suicide bombings. In the question asked if we justified it, we either had to chose sometimes or Always...there were no answers for no in none of the questions, yet FOX and the republicans jumped head over heels at the results.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 28% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -13..

Did I previously mention that I hate daily tracking polls?

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

That's a biased way of reporting.
There should be 4 categories.
Strongly approve
slightly approve
slightly disapprove
Strongly disapprove.

Visit these results taken yesterday.
You'll see how it should be reported.

http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com/pdf/AP-GfK_Poll_Release_1_Topline_12.15.09.pdf

the total approval rate is 44% with a total disapproval of 56%

polls are manipulated. when they don't reveal the questions, it's hard to determine the legitimacy of the poll.

I understand that, and I agree.

Who pays for the poll, and the questions asked make all the difference.

There is a world of difference between 'RASMUSSEN's public opinion polls and electoral polls.

Electoral polls are the barometer by which the pollster's credibility is established. The ensuing election numbers keeps them honest, or else they're plain wrong!!!

Public opinion polls on the other hand are impossible to monitor. There would need to be a referendum everytime you make a public opinion poll to validate the results.

So when it comes to public opinion polls, the pollster's integrity, and independence are fundamental criteria.

Rasmussen approaches POLITICAL POLLING following state of the art methods and execution procedures.
Their political polls are judged reliable, and their credibility for POLITICAL POLLS is therefore intact as explained above. Most people give Rasmussen the same credit for their PUBLIC OPINION POLLING results,

... and shouldn't!!!


When it comes to Rasmussen's approach to public opinion polls though, all 'state-of-the-art' methods go out the window, and are replaced by the Rasmussen 'IN-HOUSE' custom made approach to polling.

No one can hire Rasmussen for a public opinion poll, they are proud of claiming as a way of preserving their independence?!?!?!

It is suggested that the reason for their 'personalized not-for-sale approach', is that it leaves them free to poll whichever way suits them and their fans. How else can you explain that their public polling results are never in line with other major pollsters, and always leaning 'right'!?!?!?

And how about leaving out the 'graded questioning' to polling???

Taking account of only the 'Strongly' in the polls questions?!?!?!

That's it?!?!?!

That's twisted!!!

Most moderate people would rarely answer 'I strongly approve' or 'strongly disapprove', but would lean towards approving or disapproving nonetheless.

The 'strongly' allows pollsters to get the partisan votes on both sides of the axis. To only ask, or publish the 'strongly' category of a poll, discounts all moderates, or forces to assume that no moderates were polled.

Either way, it totally disqualifies the poll for total lack of credibility.

Rasmusssen is famous for catering poll results to the 'right'
(especially the fundamentalist religious right). FOX would have no favorable numbers to massage its audience and ratings with without Rasmussen.

Dress it up any which way you want, WHEN ONE IS ALWAYS LEANING ON THE SAME SIDE, don't listen to the seemingly straight words coming out of the leaning man's mouth,
... trust your eyes and notice that man has a crooked tilt about him!!!

LOL

I love your way with words my friend.

I give that post a 5 out of a possible 5!