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Released: October 20, 2009

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Zogby Interactive: Obama Job Approval Falls Back to 49%

Survey finds slipping job approval ratings from core supporters including Democrats, independents and young voters

UTICA, New York - President Barack Obama's job performance rating has fallen slightly to 49% in the most recent Zogby Interactive survey, slipping below the majority job approval mark of 52% he enjoyed late last month.

The Zogby Interactive survey of 3,694 likely voters nationwide found 49% approving of Obama's job performance, 51% disapproving and 1% undecided. The survey was conducted Oct. 16-19, 2009, and carries a margin of error of +/- 1.6 percentage points. A Sept. 28 Zogby Interactive survey was the first time since early June that President Barack Obama's job performance received majority approval in a Zogby Interactive poll of likely voters.

The table below shows Obama's job approval on Zogby Interactive polls since June 1.*

Obama Job Performance	Oct. 19	Sept. 28	Sept. 17	Sept. 14	Aug. 31	Aug. 21	July 24	June 1*
Approve	49%	52%	49%	49%	42%	45%	48%	50%
Disapprove	51%	47%	50%	50%	48%	51%	49%	49%
Not sure	1%	1%	.4%	1%	10%	4%	4%	1%

 

Obama has lost some traction with groups that were among his strongest supporters in the election, including Democrats, political independents andFirst Globals^TM, those young voters age 18-29. The table below compares Obama's approval among some of these groups on Aug. 31, when Obama experienced his most significant dip in recent Zogby Interactive polling and the two most recent job approval surveys.

Obama Approval	Oct. 19	Sept. 28	Aug. 31
Independents	43%	47%	37%
Democrats	85%	90%	75%
Liberals	94%	96%	86%
First GlobalsTM (18-29)	56%	62%	41%
African-Americans	84%	91%	74%

 

Strong majorities of both Republicans (78%) and conservatives (88%) continue to say they strongly disapprove of Obama's job performance. In this latest survey, only 9% of Republicans and 6% of conservatives indicated they somewhat or strongly approve of Obama's performance.

The poll also found that:

• Overall, 50% of likely voters view Obama favorably, a slight decrease from a late September survey. While 35% have a "very favorable" view of Obama, slightly more - 38% -- have a "very unfavorable" view of the President.
• On a four-point scale measuring Obama's job performance, 22% give him a rating of excellent, 23% good, 11% fair and 44% poor.
• 42% of likely voters say the nation is headed in the right direction, while 51% say it is off on the wrong track.
• 52% are proud to have Obama as President, and 35% are ashamed, a result that has remained steady since early summer.

Pollster John Zogby: "So much for a Nobel Prize. The nation remains divided and when candidate Obama announced his campaign nearly three years ago from Abe Lincoln's hometown, it was a nation split in two. Obama has done well with independents. The pressure is on him to get them back." 

This interactive survey, conducted by Zogby International, has a sample size of 3,694 likely voters nationwide. A sampling of Zogby International's online panel, which is representative of the adult population of the US, was invited to participate.   Slight weights were added region, party, age, race, religion, gender, education to more accurately reflect the population. The margin of error is +/- 1.6 percentage points. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups. 

*The June 1 question on Obama's job approval used a four-point scale of excellent, good, fair and poor. Zogby International combined the excellent and good responses to determine an aggregate approval percentage. In all of the other surveys listed in the table, the question asked voters whether they approved or disapproved of Obama's job performance.

(10/20/2009)

Tags: US | Politics

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