ABC/Wash Post: Pres Obama Approval rating: +9 swing since mid-Dec (Approval 54% - Disapproval 43%)

December 9-10 - Approval 49% - Disapproval 47%

http://www.pollingreport.com/obama_job1.htm

Just an FYI with some good news - if anyone was looking for "the bump". :fistbump:

edit to add - I apologize to bluestateguy before he even responds re polls :hi: .

Washington Post:

Poll shows high marks for Obama on Tucson, low regard for political dialogue

By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, January 18, 2011; 12:24 AM

Evaluations of President Obama's handling of the Jan. 8 tragedy are highly positive across the political spectrum, with nearly eight in 10 giving him high marks for his response to the incident. A robust 71 percent of Republicans say they approve of his leadership following the shootings.

The strong reviews of the president's response to the Arizona incident - which included giving a prime-time eulogy at a memorial service for the victims - have helped boost Obama's overall approval rating to its highest point since last April. Fully 54 percent of all Americans now approve of the way he is handling his job as president, while 43 percent disapprove.

After calls from leaders in both major parties to temper the discourse after the shootings, Americans are hopeful that Obama and the Republicans in Congress will be able to work together this year on important issues. In the new poll, 55 percent said they are optimistic that the two sides will do so, up seven percentage points from an ABC News-Yahoo News survey taken just before the massacre.

This Post-ABC poll started the evening after Obama's Arizona speech, and the numbers show a big shift among Republicans. In early October, as a heated midterm election campaign entered its final month, GOP approval of Obama dipped to 8 percent. It is now 22 percent. Most Republicans still strongly disapprove of the president's job performance, but at 53 percent, such intense disapproval is down 10 points since December. It is now lower than at any point since the summer of 2009.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/17/AR2011011703262.html?hpid=topnews

ABC News:

Obama Approval Moves Ahead Though Challenges Remain
Obama's Job Approval Has Matched his Highest in More Than a Year

Aided by his response to the Tucson shootings, popular lame-duck legislation and a hint of economic relief, Barack Obama has matched his highest job approval rating in more than a year in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, with his ratings for empathy likewise rebounding.

It's a remarkable turnaround for a president so recently hammered in the 2010 midterm elections. Yet the public's mood remains glum, with attendant, continuing hazards for the president and Congress alike.

Fifty-four percent now approve of Obama's job performance, up 5 points from last month and 8 points above his career low in September. And given overwhelming approval of his response to the Tucson attack, Americans by an 18-point margin, 58-40 percent, say Obama "understands the problems of people like you." That's up from a mere 2-point split, 50-48 percent, in September.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/abc-news-washington-post-poll-obama-approval-moves/story?id=12634581

.... I want a sustained trend. :)

But, then again, given how consistent his numbers have been over the last two years, a nine point swing in either direction is HUGE.

I prefer him to be in the 47-50% range right now.

Quick, say something stupid tomorrow to knock those numbers down a bit ;)

He's movin' on up!

When the public finds out through personal experience that HCR is actually a good thing...and how hard the republicans have worked to repeal it...he will soar!

His approval Is also up In new CNN poll to 53 Percent.

The big reason Is Independents have woken up and have swung back to Obama.

Quinnipiac says people are now saying they beleive economy Is recovering and the Obama policies are helping the economy
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2011/01/18/americans_see_economy_improving.html

In 2012 On election night Republicans may be crying.

though we're still going to be stuck with the Republican House Tea Party for the next two years because of the independents whom (once again) let themselves get snookered by all of the Fox Republican Tea Party propaganda into voting them into office in greater numbers. Of course, Cantor, et. al are now saying that they're not in charge of the government, so it seems like they've given up on getting anything accomplished before they've even started (though they still plan to be the "party of no"). :shrug:

I'm talking about the Indies that are in the middle. Not Indies that are essentially D's or R's in all of their voting habits or that tend to be further left or right then the parties.

I know Independents who are actually rather contrarians. They don't have a strong philosophical view of which is the best way to govern - from the Democratic POV on Government or the Republican POV on Government. If they did have a strong preference then they would essentially be partisans. I know one Indy who always takes the opposite POV of any partisan on either side. I think if you don't have that strong philosophical view to say which side is right and which is wrong THEN you tend to like divided Government where there is always a check on the power of any individual partisan viewpoint. Now, they can relax a bit and, some of them, go back to liking President Obama since they no longer have to worry about what they view as Democratic over-reach.

I'm not saying I agree with this POV in any way. I'm just saying that I know people like this. It drives me batty when trying to deal with them but that is just where they stand.

if both parties were equally responsible and are willing to actually listen to and work with each other but today's Republican Tea Party seems to be all about obtaining and maintaining political power, crushing their opponents into dust, and obstructing ANYTHING the other side tries to do when they're not in power. I don't think that some independents have figured this out yet. :shrug:

The Republican Party completely turned their back on that type of governance even before President Obama was sworn in. They weren't acting to save the Country from another Great Depression. All of their focus was on gaining power in 2010 & 2012. There was a great article on how this action has completely up-ended how our Government works. I'll try to find it.

However, Independents didn't notice this change which is why their rewarding Republicans for their actions since January 2009 was idiotic.

edit to add - here is the article - http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/78940/the-logic-republican-total-opposition



This actually makes the Lame-Duck successes seem even more surprising.

that the rest of the country is realizing what many here on DU know...

Our President is awesome!

Suck it haters...