http://graphics8.nytimes.com.nyud.net:8090/images/2009/01/17/us/18poll2_graph.jpgBy ADAM NAGOURNEY and MARJORIE CONNELLY
Published: January 17, 2009
... Mr. Bush is leaving office with just 22 percent of Americans offering a favorable view of how he handled the eight years of his presidency, a record low, and firmly identified with the economic crisis Mr. Obama is inheriting. More than 80 percent of respondents said the nation was in worse shape today than it was five years ago.
By contrast, 79 percent were optimistic about the next four years under Mr. Obama, a level of good will for a new chief executive that exceeds that measured for any of the past five incoming presidents. And it cuts across party lines: 58 percent of the respondents who said they voted for Mr. Obama’s opponent in the general election, Senator John McCain of Arizona, said they were optimistic about the country in an Obama administration ...
The telephone survey of 1,112 adults was conducted Jan. 11-15. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/18/us/politics/18poll.html?hp