President's approval nearing 50%
 

Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama's approval rating, a crucial indicator of his reelection chances, is on the rise, according to a new national survey.

A CNN/ORC International Poll out Tuesday also indicates that the partisan battle over extending the payroll tax may be partially responsible for the jump in the president's numbers.

According to the survey, 49% of Americans approve of the job Obama's doing in the White House, up five points from last month, with 48% saying they disapprove, down six points from mid-November. The 49% approval rating is the president's highest since May, when his number hit 54% thanks to a bounce following the killing of Osama bin Laden. Since then, in CNN polling, Obama's approval rating has hovered in the mid-40s.

"President Barack Obama's approval rating appears to be fueled by dramatic gains among middle-income Americans," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "The data suggest that the debate over the payroll tax is helping Obama's efforts to portray himself as the defender of the middle class."

Obama's gains have come at the expense of the Republicans in Congress and the GOP in general. By a 50% to 31% margin, people questioned say they have more confidence in the president than in congressional Republicans to handle the major issues facing the country. Obama held a much narrower 44% to 39% margin in March.

And the GOP's overall favorable rating has dropped to six points, to 43%, since June, while the Democrats' positive rating remained steady at 55%.

"The Democrats do particularly well among middle income Americans, while the Republicans win support only from the top end of the income scale," adds Holland.

Overall, only 16% say they approve of the job Congress is doing, with 83% giving lawmakers from both parties the thumbs down. The Congressional disapproval rating has topped 80% since August in CNN polling.

The survey indicates that Obama remains personally popular, with three-quarters saying they approve of him as a person.

"Overall, it's not a bad position for an incumbent to be in as the calendar turns to an election year, but there are many months to go," says Holland.

The CNN poll was conducted by ORC International from Dec. 16 to Dec. 18, with 1,015 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

I don't believe anything CNN has to say

I'll trust Rassmussen. CNN is unreliable and very biased. You don't think those polled were regular cnn patrons, huh?

ABC had similar results.

ABCs sampling for the 11/3 result when Obama was at 44%:

11/3/11
Democrat 29
Republican 26
Independent 38
Other (vol.) 5
No opinion 1

Their sampling for the 12/18 poll when Obama's at 49%:

12/18/11
Democrat 32
Republican 25
Independent 37
Other (vol.) 5
No opinion 2

Notice anything?

So far I can't find details of the sample that CBS used...

I hope he enjoys his last Christmas in the White House, oh he will be gone on our dime, a record 3+ million for this one, oh the wifey again goes solo, nothing like jet setters, they are living high on the hog:dance:

Uh, the next president will be inaugurated in Jan 2013, so unless you know something the rest of us don't, the POSOTUS will have two more Christmases in the white house.

:slap:

Remember, kids, polling is highly inaccurate when it shows something you don't want to see, and the greatest thing since sliced bread when the results support your side.

He's still a POS that has absolutely no business being in that office.

He's not qualified to run a freaking lemonade stand much less the country. :mad:

He won't be in the whitehouse for Christmas again. He and the first heffalump are vacationing in hawaii again and taking separate transportation all at the tax payers' expense.

The plural of the noun "poll" is "polls".

Use of the gerund (-ing) on the end of the singular in this case indicates that the verb form of the word is being used as a noun.

Example: "There's a difference between running and walking."

Oh, U must be one of them usless ENGLISH majors, as if anyone but YOU gives a shit.....

must be fun to be so anal......

like my 2nd semester englush prof said in college in early '63 yet.....

Anyone plan on majoring in English? so a few hesitant hands went up, and then he said....take my advice, don't, all you can do with a PHD in englush is teach...and who want's to do THAT......

:lol::lol::seasix:

Don't forget that a 50% approval rating also means that half the people DON'T like you.

Just sayin'...

:iagree: