President Obama at Lowest Job Performance Ratings Since Taking Office

25 Jun 2010 10:05 Africa/Lagos

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President Obama at Lowest Job Performance Ratings Since Taking Office

39% of Americans give him positive ratings; 34% think country heading in right direction

NEW YORK, June 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As most Americans think about summer vacations, barbecues and the beach, President Obama has other things on his mind, including the oil spill in the Gulf, a shift of military leaders in Afghanistan, the economic summit in Canada and, as since taking office, jobs and the economy. And perhaps, because of all this, the President is now at his worst job ratings with only 39% of Americans giving him positive ratings on the overall job he is doing and 61% giving him negative marks. This is down from May when 42% gave him positive ratings and 58% negative ones.


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These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,227 adults surveyed online between June 14 and 21, 2010 by Harris Interactive.


One problem for President Obama is that he is losing support from his base. Three in ten Democrats (29%) and Liberals (30%) give him negative ratings for the overall job he is doing. While it is not surprising that large numbers of Republicans (92%) and Conservatives (86%) give him negative ratings, two-thirds of Independents (68%) and almost three in five Moderates (58%) do so, as well.


There are also regional differences in how Americans view President Obama's job performance. Those in the East and West are more likely to give him positive ratings (43% and 41% respectively) while those in the South are more likely to give the president negative ratings (65%). The more education one has, the more likely they are to think President Obama is doing a good job. Just three in ten of those with a high school degree or less (31%) give the president positive ratings compared to 47% of college graduates and over half of those with a post-graduate education (53%).


Going hand in hand with the president's job numbers is how people think the country overall is doing. Just one-third of Americans (34%) believe the country is heading in the right direction while 66% say it is going off on the wrong track. This is down from last month when 36% said the country was heading in the right direction and 64% believed it was off on the right track.


In looking at the most important issues for the government to address, it is not surprising that economic issues rise to the top as almost three in ten Americans each say the most important issue for the government to address is the economy (28%) and employment/jobs (28%). Even though a reform bill has been signed into law, almost one-quarter (23%) say health care should be addressed. And, new to the list one in five Americans (20%) say the oil spill in the Gulf needs to be addressed.


So What?


It is a tough situation for any president to deal with, when faced with so many competing problems and being pulled in so many directions at once. For this president, one of the issues is that even when it appears he has a win, such as with health care reform, the battle was so costly that the win falls hollow. Now he and the White House are faced with congressional elections in just a few months, an angry electorate, and dwindling support among his own partisans. If the summer does not go well for President Obama and this continues to trickle down to Democrats across the country, there very well may be a new party in control of Congress in January.

Read more.

Majority of Americans Approve of President Obama's Handling of Afghanistan and National Security

President Barack Obama

12 Feb 2010 15:00 Africa/Lagos


Majority of Americans Approve of President Obama's Handling of Afghanistan and National Security But Disapprove of Handling of Economic Issues, Per Franklin &

Marshall College Poll With Hearst Television
75% Say the U.S. Healthcare System Needs Reform

LANCASTER, Pa., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than half (57%) of registered American voters approve of the way President Obama is handling the situation in Afghanistan, and half (52%) also approve of the way he is handling national security issues. Fewer (45%) registered respondents approve of the way the president is dealing with the country's economic problems.

Also, more Americans now say they would vote for the Republican candidate (39%) than the Democratic candidate (35%) if the midterm House elections were held today. In September 2009, the Democrats led the Republicans, 43 percent to 30 percent, on this question.

These and other findings resulted from the February 2010 Franklin & Marshall College National Poll, produced at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA in partnership with Hearst Television Inc.
Among the other findings:

-- Only one in three (35%) citizens believes the United States is
currently headed in the right direction. Most cite the economy and
personal finances (64%) as the most important problems their families
currently face, with healthcare-related issues a distant second (11%).
-- More than one in three (37%) Americans say the current healthcare
system meets their needs very well, and another two in five (41%) say
it meets their needs pretty well, leaving about one in five (21%) who
feel the system is not serving their personal needs. These figures
remain largely unchanged since September 2009.
-- The cost of healthcare and availability of health insurance coverage
were significant problems for many adults during the past year. Nearly
one in four (23%) adults report skipping a recommended test or medical
treatment because of the cost, and one in five (21%) did not fill a
medical prescription because of the cost. About one in five (19%)
respondents say they were without health insurance coverage at some
point during the previous 12 months.
-- Three in four (75%) Americans believe the country's healthcare system
is in need of reform (compared to 79% in September 2009), and half
(47%) of these respondents believe the system is in need of major
reform. This equates to about one in three (35%) Americans who feel
the nation's healthcare system needs major reform-about the same
proportion as in September (37%).
-- A majority (59%) of Americans believes the bills being considered by
the House and Senate would make major changes to the country's
healthcare system. Americans are evenly split about whether they are
satisfied (45%) or dissatisfied (45%) that healthcare reform has not
yet passed.


The survey findings presented in this release are based on the results of interviews conducted February 2-8, 2010. The interviews were conducted at the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College under the direction of the poll's Director, G. Terry Madonna, PhD, Head Methodologist Berwood Yost, and Project Manager Jennifer Harding. The data included in this release represent the responses of 920 adults in the United States, and 767 of them are registered to vote. Telephone numbers for the survey were generated using random digit dialing, and respondents were randomly selected from within each household. Survey results were weighted (age, education, race, region, and gender) using an iterative weighting algorithm. The sample error for this survey is +/- 3.2 percentage points. The sample error for registered adults is +/- 3.5 percentage points. This Franklin & Marshall College Poll was produced in partnership with Hearst Television Inc. It may be used in whole or in part, provided any use is attributed to Franklin & Marshall College.
This is the fifth national poll in a series produced at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., with Hearst Television; the partnership, whose first poll was in June 2008, was forged out of a longstanding regional relationship between Franklin & Marshall and Hearst station WGAL-TV, the NBC affiliate serving the Lancaster/Harrisburg TV market.

This is also the second Franklin & Marshall College Poll to focus on health-care policy, an area of academic strength for the College.
Contributors to the poll included Senior Associate Dean of the Faculty, Vice Provost for Planning and Institutional Research and Professor of Economics Alan Caniglia, Professor of Economics Sean Flaherty and The Honorable and Mrs. John C. Kunkel Professor of Government Joseph Karlesky.

Complete results can be found at http://politics.fandm.edu/. Readers can also follow poll director Dr. Madonna on Twitter at http://twitter.com/terrymadonna.
Hearst Television Inc., formerly known as Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc., is a leading local media company comprising 29 television stations and two radio stations. The Company's television stations reach approximately 18% of U.S. TV households, making it one of America's largest television station groups. It also owns more than three dozen websites and multicasts more than two dozen digital channels providing news, weather and entertainment programming. Hearst Television is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst Corporation. The Company's Web address is www.hearsttelevision.com.

Source: Hearst Television Inc.

CONTACT: Dr. G. Terry Madonna, Director of the Center for Politics and
Public Affairs, Director, Franklin and Marshall College Poll, Professor of
Public Affairs, Franklin & Marshall College, Office, +1-717-291-4052, or Cell,
+1-717-575-2164, Fax, +1-717-358-4666, terry.madonna@fandm.edu; or Tom Campo
of Campo Communications, LLC, for Hearst Television Inc., +1-212-590-2464,
tom@campocommunications.com

Web Site: http://www.hearsttelevision.com/

Comment of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt. )on the Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to President Obama

9 Oct 2009 16:26 Africa/Lagos

Comment of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt. )on the Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to President Obama

MIDDLESEX, Vt., Oct. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a comment by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on the Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to President Obama:


"It's a stunning announcement and it reflects well on America's ideals and the world's yearning for American leadership.


"Little is possible without leadership. No one can force other nations to follow, but President Obama is reintroducing America to the rest of the world, and people of goodwill everywhere do have hope about working together for progress on some of the world's most daunting and dangerous problems."


Source: Office of U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy

CONTACT: David Carle of the Office of Senator Patrick Leahy,
+1-202-224-3693

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