Post Bin Laden Death, President Obama's Job Rating Rises 8 Points

Post Bin Laden Death, President Obama's Job Rating Rises 8 Points
Highest rating for President Obama since September, 2009

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, May 9, 2011

NEW YORK, May 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- With the news that the most wanted man in America had been killed by Navy Seals, President Obama had one reason to breathe a sigh of relief last week. Now, he has another as Americans seemed to rally around not only him but also feel better about the state of the country. Currently, just under half (46%) of U.S. adults give President Obama positive ratings on the overall job he is doing, a rise of eight points from last month when only 38% gave him positive marks. Just over half (54%) give the President negative ratings, down from 62% who did so last month. This is also the highest rating for the President since September of 2009 when almost half (49%) of Americans gave him positive ratings.

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These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,104 adults surveyed online between May 4 and 6, 2011 by Harris Interactive.



Democrats and Independents contribute the most to this rise. Over three-quarters of Democrats (77%) now give President Obama positive marks for his overall job approval, up from seven in ten (69%) last month. Among Independents, almost two in five (38%) give the President positive ratings up from three in ten (31%) in April. There is even a small rise among Republicans – in April, just 9% gave the President positive ratings; now, 12% do.

Congress also sees a small rise in their job ratings. Currently, just over one in ten Americans (13%) give the overall job Congress is doing positive ratings, up five points from last month when just 8% gave them positive marks. However, almost nine in ten (87%) still give them negative ratings.

The largest positive jump is in how the country overall is doing. In April, just one-quarter of Americans (26%) thought the country was heading in the right direction while 74% thought it was going off on the wrong track. Now, two in five U.S. adults (39%) say it is going in the right direction while 61% believe it is on the wrong track – a jump of 12 points.

So What?

The news from the White House late on Sunday, May 1st has caused many Americans to feel more positive about life in general and the way this country is going. This, in turn, translates into positive feelings about the President and even, albeit to a lesser extent, Congress. The question is does this hold or is it a temporary rise until something brings it back down. If the election were held today, the country is split on President Obama's re-election as 46% of Americans would be likely to vote for him and 47% would not be likely to do so. More than his approval ratings, these are the numbers the White House and re-election committee are watching closely.

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