Pessimism Is on the Wane while Obama's Credibility Remains High

Washington, DC - President Barack Obama's approval ratings remain high with 64% of Americans saying that they approve of the job he is doing as President (down only one point over the past month and five points since early February). Fully 40% say that they strongly approve of his performance. In contrast, one third (32%) say that they disapprove of how Obama is handling things.

• The President approval ratings range from 89% among Democrats, 58% among Independents and 27% among Republicans. Compared with the past few weeks after President Obama's inauguration, his approval ratings are down by 3 points among Democrats, but they have dropped 12 points among Independents and 7 points among Republicans.
• Those who tend to most approve of how Obama is doing his job include Hispanics (81%), African-Americans (81%) and women in general (70%). Among both non-Hispanic whites and among men in general, 58% approve of his performance.

Approval of Congress has barely improved over the past several months as 39% of Americans approve of the job it's doing (up two points from early February) and a narrow majority of 52% disapprove of it.

• Fifty-seven percent of Democrats approve of Congress's performance (up 10 points since February), compared to 32% of Independents (down 11 points) and just 15% of Republicans (down three points).

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted June 4-8, 2009. For the survey, a nationally representative, randomly selected sample of exactly 1000 adults aged 18 and older across the United States was interviewed by Ipsos. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population in the U.S. been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the actual U.S. population according to U.S. Census figures. Respondents had the option to be interviewed in English or Spanish.

Though a majority of Americans (52%) feel that the country is headed in the right direction, more than four in ten (42%) worries that things are off on the wrong track. Six percent are unsure.

• Americans are slightly more likely to say that the U.S is headed in the wrong direction than they were last month (42% vs. 38%).
• African-Americans (67%) are much more likely than Hispanics (57%) and non-Hispanic whites (49%) to feel that the things are on the right track.
• The gaps are most extreme across party lines; while three quarters of Democrats (74%) say that the U.S. is on the right track, just 20% of Republicans agree.

When it comes to the economy, nearly half of Americans (48%) feel that it has stabilized, but has not yet begun to improve - the same proportion as last month. Fewer than one in ten (9%) believe that the U.S. economy has turned the corner on the economic crisis, while 37% still fear that the worst is yet to come.

• Adults aged 55 and older are most optimistic, with 13% believing that we have turned the corner on the current economic crisis, while 35 to 54 year olds are most pessimistic (43% believe the worst is yet to come.) A majority of younger adults (58%) feel that the economy is stabilizing.
• A majority of Republicans (58%) fear that the economy will worsen still, whereas the same proportion of Democrats (58%) believes it is become more stable. Democrats are nearly twice as likely as Republicans to feel that we have already turned a corner (10% vs. 6%).

For more information on this news release, please contact: Clifford Young Senior Vice President Ipsos Public Affairs (312) 777-3911 [email protected]

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