Americans optimistic under Obama's presidency: Poll

Americans have grown more optimistic about the economy and the direction of the country in the 11 weeks since president Barack Obama was inaugurated, suggesting that he is enjoying some success in his critical task of rebuilding the nation’s confidence, a new poll shows.

Sometimes turbulent weeks — marked by new initiatives by Obama, attacks by Republicans and more than a few missteps by the White House — do not appear to have hurt the president, New York Times said, releasing the results of poll.
    
The poll conducted for the Times and NBC News shows that Americans approve of Obama's handling of the economy, foreign policy, Iraq and Afghanistan; Two-thirds of respondents said they approved of his overall job performance.
    
By contrast, just 31 per cent of respondents said they had a favourable view of the Republican Party, the lowest in the 25 years the question has been asked in New York Times/CBS News polls.
    
Stating that it is not unusual for new presidents to enjoy a period of public support, the Times said still, the durability of Obama’s support contrasts with that of some of his predecessors at the same point in their terms.
    
It is also striking at a time when anxiety has gripped households across the country and Obama has alternately sought to rally Americans’ spirits and warn against economic collapse as he seeks Congressional support for his programmes, the paper added.

The poll found that 70 per cent of respondents were very or somewhat concerned that someone in their household would be out of work and looking for a job in the next 12 months. Forty per cent said they had cut spending on luxuries, 10 per cent said they had cut back on necessities while 31 per cent said they had cut both.
    
For all that, the number of people who said they thought the country was headed in the right direction jumped from 15 per cent in mid-January, just before Obama took office, to 39 per cent on Tuesday, while the number who said it was headed in the wrong direction dropped to 53 per cent from 79 per cent.
    
That is the highest percentage of Americans who said the country was headed in the right direction since 42 per cent said so in February 2005, the second month of president George W Bush’s second term.
    
The percentage of people who said the economy was getting worse has declined from 54 per cent just before Obama took office to 34 per cent today. And 20 per cent now think the economy is getting better, compared with 7 per cent in mid-January.

With the poll finding that an overwhelming number think the recession will last a year or more, the paper said Obama may find he has a deep well of patience to draw on. The poll found that he shoulders virtually none of the public blame for the economic crisis: 33 per cent blame Bush, 21 per cent blame financial institutions, and 11 per cent blame Congress.

By more than three to one, voters said they trusted Obama more than they trusted Congressional Republicans to make the right decisions about the economy. And by more than two to one, they said they trusted Obama to keep the nation safe, typically a Republican strong suit.

Nearly one-quarter of Republicans said they trusted Obama more than Congressional Republicans to make the right decisions about the economy.

The poll showed signs of continued political division: 57 per cent of people who said they voted for Senator John McCain in November said they disapproved of Obama's performance.

Even as Americans strongly support Obama, they do not necessarily support all of his initiatives. For example, 58 per cent disapprove of his proposal to bail out banks. But the percentage of respondents who said they thought it would benefit all Americans, rather than only bankers, jumped from 29 per cent in February to 47 per cent now, signaling that the White House might be making progress in changing perceptions of the plan.
    
Americans, the Time said, remain concerned about the growing national debt being passed on to future generations, but in the face of the current economic troubles, they are divided over whether it is necessary to increase debt. Forty-six percent said the government should not incur further debt, but 45 per cent said the government should spend money to stimulate the economy even though it would increase the budget deficit.