Republicans have been ratcheting up their divisive rhetoric towards the President over the past week, and it made me think Obama’s poll numbers must be dropping, or at least the stimulus plan must be unpopular. The truth is, both are very popular.
The public may be largely taking these Cabinet controversies in stride because it tends to view them as nothing out of the ordinary, according to the Feb. 4 USA Today/Gallup poll that probed reaction to the controversies.
Specifically, the poll finds 58% of Americans describing the controversies as “a normal part of the process of filling high-level government positions in any new administration.” Only half that number — 29% — think they reflect poorly on the Obama administration, saying the administration “appears to be having more problems filling high government positions than is typical for new administrations.” The remaining 12% have no opinion.
A new CBS poll finds that 60 percent of Americans view Congressional Republicans unfavorably, with just 32 percent viewing them favorably. These numbers compare unfavorably with those of Congressional Democrats, as a plurality of voters (48 percent) rate the party’s caucus positively and just 43 percent rate it negatively. President Obama’s numbers are significantly better than those, with 62 percent approving of the job he is doing and a remarkably small 15 percent voicing disapproval.