CBS and NBC News Polls: Obama is Still Riding High

Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:28 pm

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Two new polls were released this evening by the Wall Street Journal/NBC News and CBS News/New York Times, and overall the news is pretty good for President Obama who still enjoys a 60% or higher approval rating in both polls, while Republicans are suffering from a near 60% disapproval rating.

The good news for Obama is that his job approval rating is 63% in the CBS News poll compared to a 28% approval rating for Republicans. The GOP also has a 58% disapproval rating. In the NBC News poll, 60% of people have a positive view of Obama. His negatives are only at 29%. Compare this to the Republican Party which has a 25% positive rating, and a 46% negative rating.

President Obama seems to be still connecting strongly on a personal level with the American people, as 63% of respondents said that they strongly or somewhat relate to him personally, and amazing 75% of respondents said that they personally liked Obama. Sixty percent of those asked in the NBC poll agreed that Obama focuses on many issues because the nation has many problems.

Obama’s two least popular decisions have been to close Gitmo and bailout GM.
Fifty six percent opposed the GM bailout, and 52% opposed closing Gitmo. In the CBS poll the margin on Gitmo is much closer, 45%-42% in favor of the detention center remaining open. Sixty eight percent of those surveyed think that Gitmo detainees should be charged or released, and 50% think that closing Gitmo will make no difference in keeping America safe.

Although 84% of respondents in the CBS poll think that the economy is bad, Obama has a 55% approval rating for his handling of the economy, and only a 24% disapproval rating. Obama also has a 51% approval rating on the economy in the NBC News poll. Obama also registered a near 60% approval rating in both polls on the issue of foreign policy.

Seventy two percent of respondents in the NBC News poll still blame the Bush administration for the economy, and 46% blame Bush for the budget deficit. Only 6% blame the Obama administration.

Obama has made a couple of tough and unpopular decisions on Gitmo and GM, but he still remains very popular. Republicans still have no message and are tainted by the Bush years, so we still have a situation where the two parties are moving in very different directions, and the Republicans can’t seem to slow down Obama’s momentum.

Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll

New York Times/CBS News poll

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association