WASHINGTON: Wednesday will mark US President Barack Obama’s 100th day in office, a day that in the US has traditionally marked the first opportunity for the country to assess the performance of its new leader. And whether Obama is on right track or just plain wrong his is as serious and challenging a presidency as America has seen in decades.
Millions of Americans jobless. Billions of dollars in bailouts. Trillions of dollars in US debt. And yet, for the first time in years, more Americans than not say the country is on the right track.
With no crystal ball in hand, one cannot predict the outcome of Obama’s ambitious agenda. But he can count one certain victory: In poll after poll, the number of people who feel the country is going in the right direction has soared since his inauguration — is a much greater increase than recorded by any of his four most recent predecessors.
The 44th president is even more distinguished by his strong personal popularity, says a poll released on Wednesday by the Pew Research Center.
Fully 73 percent of Americans — including as many as 46 percent of Republicans — hold a favorable view of Obama as a person. Fewer people held favorable impressions of George W. Bush (61 percent) and Bill Clinton (60 percent) early in their first years.
Obama’s job approval stands at 63 percent, while 26 percent disapprove of the way he is handling his job as president. This approval rating is up slightly from March (59 percent). A Washington Post-ABC News Poll published on the newspaper’s front page on March 31 said: “The percentage of Americans in the new poll who said the country is on the right track still stands at just 42 percent, but that is the highest percentage saying so in five years and marks a sharp turnabout from last fall, when as many as nine in 10 said the country was heading in the wrong direction.”
A poll by Politico.com this week made another interesting point: “Although other presidents have had similar approval ratings at 100 days, the improvement in the right-track measure was much more dramatic than under former Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton or George W. Bush.”
Predictably, opinions about Obama’s performance remain highly partisan. Fully 93 percent of Democrats approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president, compared with just 30 percent of Republicans. Independents’ opinions fall in between, with 58 percent expressing positive views of his performance and 27 percent negative opinions.
According to the new USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted April 20-21, 56 percent of Americans believe he has done an excellent or good job during his first 100 days in office, and only 20 percent say he has done a poor or terrible job.
The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center, finds that Obama’s job ratings on several specific domestic issues are on balance positive, but they also reflect the division of opinion about many of his policies. For example, 60 percent approve of his handling of the economy generally, while 33 percent disapprove. Fewer (50 percent) approve of his handling of the budget deficit, compared with 39 percent who disapprove.
Obama gets better ratings on foreign policy and terrorism — issues on which he trailed John McCain during last year’s presidential campaign — than on health care, tax policy or the budget deficit.
In conducting foreign policy, Pew said most Americans think Obama is striking the right balance in pushing American interests (57 percent) and in taking into account the interests and views of US allies (56 percent). Fewer than a third (31 percent) believe that Obama is not pushing US interests hard enough, and even fewer (19 percent) say he takes interests of allies too much into account.
Pew said the public also is rendering a somewhat more positive view of Obama’s decision to close the US military prison at Guantanamo than it did a few months ago; by 51 percent to 38 percent, more now approve of the decision to shut down Guantanamo. In February, the margin was narrower, (46 to 39 percent).
The public supports President Obama’s decision to permit federal funding for most embryonic stem cell research, which the Bush Administration opposed. More than six-in-ten (63 percent) approve of Obama’s stem cell research policy while 27 percent are opposed.
Most Americans also continue to reject the criticism that Obama is trying to tackle too many issues, said Pew.
Obama is popular, but he might be jealous of his wife’s popularity.
More than three-quarters of Americans (76 percent) say they have a favorable opinion of the first lady, up from 68 percent in January. Much of the change has come among Republicans, especially Republican women. About two-thirds of Republican women (67 percent) have a favorable impression of Michelle Obama, a gain of 21 points since January.
