Voters are evenly divided at 46 percent on whether they approve or disapprove of the way President Obama is doing his job as president, according to a Fox News poll taken Nov. 17-18.

Fox said 46 percent marked a low point in Obama's approval since taking office, which has averaged 56 percent. The high point for his approval in a Fox News poll came a week after his inauguration when it was 65 percent.

Low point or not, the president is better at his job than Congress, which has an approval rating of 26 percent and disapproval of 63 percent, according to the Fox poll.

American voters like President Obama considerably more as someone to share a beer than they like what he is trying to do when he's at work, according to a Quinnipiac University poll taken Nov. 9-16.

While 74 percent of the respondents to the survey say they like Obama as a person, 47 percent say they like his policies, the Quinnipiac poll found.

"Most Americans like President Barack Obama and might like to have a beer with him," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "But millions of voters who sided with him last November because they thought he would bring change to Washington aren't crazy about the kind of change he is trying to bring."

The American public is divided on what to do next about the war in Afghanistan -- send in more troops or start finding a way out, according to a Gallup poll taken Nov. 5-8.

The Obama administration is trying to reach a decision on these very issues, and the president has asked the military to give him different options than the proposal offered by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the American commander in Afghanistan who has asked for an additional 40,000 troops to stabilize the country.

Public opinion is split with 42 percent in favor of sending more troops and 44 percent saying troop strength should start coming down, Gallup said.

Texas voters are nearly united in how they feel about the people who write the laws they have to live by: They don't like 'em, according to a statewide poll conducted Oct. 20-27 for The Texas Tribune, a political news site funded by venture capitalists to be non-partisan and non-profit.

Hardly a surprise, but the numbers are telling: 3 percent of Texas voters approve of the way the Congress is doing its job, and 2 percent approve of the way their friends and neighbors in the state Legislature are doing their job.

Forty-one percent approve of the way President Obama is doing his job and 52 percent disapprove. Thirty-six percent approve of the way Gov. Rick Perry is doing his job and 54 percent disapprove. And 39 percent approve of the way Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is doing her job while 27 percent disapprove.

Hutchison is getting ready to challenge Perry in next year's gubernatorial primary.

Forty-two percent of those likely to vote in the Republican gubernatorial primary say they would vote for Perry, and 19 percent of likely Democratic voters say they would support singer and songwriter Kinky Friedman for their party's nomination. That put Friedman well at the top of six potential Democratic candidates for governor.

The poll conducted via the Internet by YouGov/Polimetrix for the University of Texas and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.46 percentage points.

The favorable impression of Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has been on a slow decline since the election and now stands at 42 percent, a 17-percentage-point drop since last November, according to a Gallup poll taken Oct. 16-19.

Gallup doesn't point to anything Biden has done to cause this decrease in his favorable rating, and he's had company in his declining popularity. The favorable rating for President Obama has taken a slide since the inauguration from 78 percent to 55 percent, and first lady Michelle Obama's favorable rating has waned from 72 percent in March to 61 percent now.

Where Biden seems to be lagging is how his popularity compares to the president's. Obama's average favorable rating for his first year in office is 63 percent, and Biden's is 45 percent. In the two previous administrations the popularity gap between president and vice president was narrower.

Iowa Republican Sen. Charles E. Grassley, who has been a titanic political figure in his state for decades, could face a competitive race for a sixth term -- particularly if Democrat Christie Vilsack chose to challenge him.

A Daily Kos/Research 2000 survey conducted Oct. 12-14 had Grassley with a 51 percent to 40 percent lead over Vilsack, a lawyer and teacher who is married to Tom Vilsack, President Obama's Agriculture secretary and Iowa's governor from 1999 through 2006.

There's been speculation that Vilsack is the unnamed "mystery candidate" that Iowa Democratic leaders have promised will soon announce a campaign and give Grassley his toughest re-election fight ever. Grassley has won at least 66 percent of the vote in each of his four Senate re-election campaigns, usually against hapless Democratic opposition.

The job approval ratings for President Barack Obama have inarguably declined since his Jan. 20 inauguration, as the soaring promises of change on which he was elected last November meet the rough-and-tumble of the legislative and political processes.

But Obama's problem in pressing his policy agenda has not been a serious erosion in his base of supporters, according to the latest survey conducted by the polling unit at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

It is, rather, a sharp increase in the numbers of those voters who now say they disapprove of how Obama is handling his responsibilities. And the poll suggests that one of the president's most pressing challenges is to win back the support of independent voters, who began the year predisposed to Obama by a wide margin but are now split roughly down the middle.

The Marist poll of 913 registered voters -- conducted Oct. 7, 8 and 12 and carrying a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points -- showed 53 percent of all respondents approved of Obama's job performance. That is down just a tad from 55 percent in the unit's August national poll and from 56 percent in a poll published April 8.

But the disapproval rate has jumped to 41 percent, from 30 percent in that April 8 poll and from 35 percent in August.

A pair of new polls show the public's opinion of Congress is back in the cellar near where it began the year.

Despite what has happened with the economy, people seem to be in a reasonably good mood, according to an AP-GfK poll taken Oct. 1-5 in which 78 percent of the respondents said they were happy - 34 percent considering themselves "very happy" and 44 percent who say they're "somewhat happy."

And they like President Obama, whose approval rating for the way he's handling his job was 56 percent - about half of which came from people who strongly approved of his work as president.

Not so much for Congress, though, where the approval rating is 33 percent (just 3 percent saying they strongly approve), and the disapproval rating is 64 percent - more than half of whom say they strongly disapprove.

In the “who’s to blame for this lousy economy?” sweepstakes, more than half of voters believe former President George W. Bush should bear the blame, while more than a third say it’s President Obama’s fault, says a Rasmussen survey conducted Oct. 2-3.

In the telephone poll of 1,000 likely voters, 55 percent blamed the current financial situation on a recession which began under Bush, while 37 percent said the troubles stem from the policies President Obama has put in place since taking office.

Most voters trust their own judgment more than the president’s when it comes to economic issues affecting the nation: 59 percent trust themselves, 29 percent trust Obama more and 12 percent are not sure.

Now that the waiting is over, the state that was evenly split over whether it wanted Al Franken in the Senate is still unsure about Minnesota's junior senator.

Fully 30 percent of the 1,000 adults surveyed for the Minneapolis Star Tribune weren't sure enough to venture an opinion about how Franken's doing, according to the poll conducted Sept. 21-24.

Of the rest, Franken's two months of work as a senator won the approval of 41 percent of respondents and the disapproval of 29 percent.

Americans have some doubts about President Obama's next moves in Afghanistan and his handling of foreign policy, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll conducted the week of Sept. 21, but he's also shored up support for health care overhaul, his top domestic priority.

The poll of more than 1,000 adults shows growing optimism that the economy has begun to turn around. Obama's overall approval rating has held steady at 51 percent since August, as his message on health care has clearly begun to penetrate.

Still, the poll inferred some warnings for Obama and congressional Democrats.

For the first time, independent voters -- who put Obama in the White House and gave Democrats control of Congress -- disapprove of the job he is doing, by 46 percent compared with the 41 percent who approve. In July, 49 percent of independents approved of the president, against 38 percent who disapproved.

New doubts about the president have coincided with new hopes for Republicans, who appeared flattened by the election nearly a year ago.

As the 2010 election cycle heats up, 40 percent now favor Republican control of Congress compared with 39 percent in July; 43 percent favor a Democratic-controlled Congress compared with 46 percent in July.

However, the mood is improving on the economy: nearly one-quarter of the poll's respondents said they feel satisfied with the state of the economy, which marks a 10-point jump from July. Thirty-five percent of respondents now believe the economy has pretty much hit bottom, compared with 27 percent who thought so in July.

President Obama's approval numbers hit negative double digits again, a Sunday Rasmussen tracking poll shows, with 30 percent strongly approving of his performance and 40 percent strongly disapproving.

The approval index -- calculated by subtracting the number who strongly disapprove from the number who strongly approve yielded a rating of minus 10. Rasmussen said it is the first time in three weeks that the approval index fell to negative double digits.

On Sept. 6, 29 percent strongly approved of the president's performance and 40 percent strongly disapproved, for a rating of minus 11.

In the telephone poll of 1,500 likely voters over three days, 48 percent of voters said they "somewhat approve" of Obama's performance, while 51 percent "somewhat disapprove." The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Health care overhaul legislation does not appear to contain a good prognosis for a life in politics, if the latest ratings for Sen. Charles E. Grassley are any indicator.

In the latest Iowa Poll, conducted Sept. 14-16 by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, the approval rating for the Iowa Republican plunged nearly 20 points, to 57 percent from 75 percent in January.

His rating in the poll, conducted for the Des Moines Register, stood at 66 percent in April, just before the most intense talks on the overhaul began.

U.S. adults have serious misgivings about how President Obama is handling the government's ballooning budget deficit, with 58 percent saying they disapprove and 38 percent saying they approve, according to a Gallup poll taken Sept. 11-13.

The disapproval rating for the president is higher than his approval rating on two other issues, healthcare policy (52 percent to 43 percent) and the economy (51 percent to 46 percent), Gallup said.

On four other issues, his approval rating is higher than disapproval:

While slightly more than half of Americans said they currently oppose President Obama's health care overhaul proposal, almost the same number agree that some kind of overhaul is needed, according to a CNN/Opinion Research poll conducted Aug. 28-31.

The telephone survey of 1,010 adults found that 51 percent of those polled said they oppose Obama's plan and 45 percent said they favor it.

To the question, "Do you think the country's health care system needs a great deal of reform, only some reform, or no reform at all?" 45 percent said, a "great deal," 46 percent said, "only some," and 7 percent favored no changes to the current system.

Obama has scheduled a Sept. 9 address to a joint session of Congress and renew his call to pass legislation retooling the health insurance market this year. He is likely to more thoroughly detail his expectations for an overhaul, including what he deems an acceptable fallback to a public insurance plan that would compete against private insurers.

The news isn't good at the moment for members of Congress hoping to hang onto their jobs next year. A poll conducted Aug. 20-27 by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found favorable public opinion toward the Congress, now at 37 percent, to be at its lowest point in more than 20 years.

The poll also found that 52 percent of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of Congress.

Democrats, who control both houses of Congress, are bearing the brunt of the public's wrath.

President Obama's approval rating is at 51 percent and could wind up as one of the fastest declines in presidential approval since World War II, according to a poll conducted by Gallup Aug. 23-25.

Only presidents Gerald R. Ford and Bill Clinton took faster falls in approval after taking office. Ford dipped below majority approval after three months in office, and Clinton reached that point after four months in the White House, Gallup said.

President Eisenhower had the longest run of popularity in office, with 63 months above the 50-percent mark. At its lowest point, his popularity reached 48 percent in March and April 1958 and rebounded back to majority approval, Gallup said.

If the 2012 election were held now, President Obama would be re-elected comfortably, despite his approval sliding below 50 percent and rising doubts among independent voters, according to a Clarus Research Group poll conducted Aug. 14-19.

Clarus found that Obama would win in trial heats against a slate of possible Republican candidates:

-- Against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 47 percent to 38 percent;

-- Against former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, 53 percent to 34 percent;

As he struggles to pull off an overhaul of the nation’s health care system and right the economy, the news is bad and could get worse for President Obama, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll showing that confidence in his leadership has dropped significantly since April.

The Post-ABC telephone survey of 1,001 adults nationwide found that only 49 percent of Americans now believe Obama can make the right decisions for the country, compared to 60 percent at the 100-day mark of his administration back in April.

At the same time, confidence in his ability to make changes for the better has dropped from 69 percent at the start of his presidency to 49 percent today, an indication that the intense opposition to health care reform is beginning to take its toll on Obama’s efforts.

Overall, however, Obama still has a 57 percent job approval rating in the survey conducted Aug. 13-17, even though it found that 55 percent of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track — a change from 48 percent in April when Obama’s job approval stood at 69 percent.

The number of Americans with a favorable view of the Democratic Party has dipped below 50 percent for the first time since President Obama’s inauguration, according to a new poll released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center.

The poll found that just 49 percent of Americans have a good opinion of the party that controls Congress and the White House. Sixty-two percent had a favorable opinion in a similar poll conducted shortly after Obama took office, and in April, 59 percent of Americans were still supportive of the Democrats.

The survey of 2,010 people, conducted Aug. 11-17, also found that 51 percent still approve of Obama’s job performance, while 37 percent disapprove. But the president has lost a lot of ground with independents, who are now almost evenly divided in their opinions of Obama’s job performance. Forty-five percent approve of what he’s doing, and 43 percent disapprove.

In June, 56 percent of independents approved of Obama’s performance to just 29 percent who disapproved. At the same time, only 40 percent of independents have a favorable view of the Democratic Party, which is a decline of 12 points since April.

Criticism of President Obama’s efforts to overhaul the nation’s health care system may be growing, but a new Rasmussen poll indicates that most Americans still blame his predecessor, George W. Bush, for the nation’s economic woes.

The national telephone survey of 1,000 likely voters found that 55 percent still believe the policies of the Bush administration brought on the recession, while 39 percent blamed Obama’s policies for the bad economy.

In May, a similar Rasmussen poll found that 62 percent blamed Bush and 27 percent Obama. But the new survey continued to show that a large number of Americans don’t trust the president when it comes to making the right decisions about the economy.

For example, only 27 percent of those questioned trust Obama’s judgment on economic matters, while 60 percent said they trust themselves more than the president when it comes to making decisions on economic issues.

The poll taken Aug. 15-16 has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percent.

U.S. consumers’ confidence in access to health care and their future well-being declined last month, as debate over President Obama’s proposed overhaul of the health system intensified, a new telephone survey found.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s monthly health care consumer confidence index found the largest drop in confidence among individuals age 65 and older, who registered a 10.4 point decline in their confidence level during the month.

Individuals in the age group 50-64 had the lowest confidence level overall. Last month the confidence level for the cohort fell 4.4 points from 95.1 points in June to 90.7 in July. The overall score in July was 97.2, down from the June confidence level of 102.3. The measurement is based on a scale of 0 to 200 and was culled from telephone interviews with 500 respondents.

The survey found widespread anxiety among individuals about being priced out of the health care marketplace. Nearly 52 percent of respondents said they were worried they will not be able to pay for their future health care needs in the event of a serious illness. Forty-seven percent are worried they will not be able to afford all of the routine health care services they need. And 36 percent are concerned they will not be able to afford future prescriptions.

For the first time since last year’s election, the percentage of people expecting a tax cut has fallen into the single digits, according to a new Rasmussen poll.

The poll showed that only 6 percent of voters now expect their taxes to decline under President Obama. The nationwide telephone survey of 1,000 voters conducted Aug. 13-14 found that 42 percent expect their taxes to increase, while 40 percent believe their federal tax burden will remain about the same. Twelve percent were undecided.

The results of the survey continued a downward trend, apparently tied to ongoing debates over how to pay for an overhaul of the nation’s health care system and new energy and other potentially expensive legislation.

When he was elected, 22 percent of voters surveyed believed Obama, who promised to cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans, would actually reduce their payments to the IRS.

As the debate over health care overhaul rages on, a new Marist poll shows Americans believe President Obama needs to do more to convince them it is the right course of action.

The poll, conducted Aug. 3-6, showed 45 percent of registered U.S. voters say they disapprove of how Obama is handling health care while 43 percent approve. Along party lines, 74 percent of Democrats approvie of the way Obama is dealing with the issue and 76 percent of Republicans disapprove.

A majority of independents, 52 percent, are unhappy with the way Obama is addressing the health care situation.

Although 65 percent of U.S. residents, including 67 percent of registered voters nationwide, think the nation’s health care system needs major change, many are not optimistic about the impact of health care overhaul.

Forty-nine percent of registered voters oppose the plans they have seen for overhauling the American health care system, while 34 percent support the plans, according to a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll conducted Aug. 11-12.

The same poll said President Obama's approval rating stands at 53 percent while his disapproval is 40 percent. Although his approval has declined while his disapproval has gone up, the president still is held in higher regard than Congress, which has a 30 percent approval rating with 59 percent disapproval.

The poll also found 35 percent of people worried that they and their families would be worse off if the plans were adopted; 20 percent thought they would be better off; and 37 percent said it would not make any difference.

The poll was based on telephone interviews with 900 registered voters and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

President Obama's handling of health care gives him weaker ratings than he gets on three other big areas, according to a Gallup poll conducted Aug. 6-9.

The president's approval rating on health care stands at 43 percent, while disapproval is 49 percent, Gallup said on Wednesday.

Fifty-three percent approve of his handling of education, while 30 percent disapprove; 53 percent approve of the administration's approach to foreign affairs, while 40 percent disapprove; and 48 percent approve of his handling of the economy, while 49 percent disapprove.

Obama's overall job approval rating registered at 54 percent.

The poll was based on telephone interviews with 1,010 adults nationwide and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Fiery town hall meetings and concern about costs are stoking opposition to President Obama and congressional Democrats' effort to overhaul the U.S. health care system, a Rasmussen Reports survey conducted Aug. 9-10 shows.

The national telephone suvey of 1,000 likely voters found public support for an overhaul falling to a new low of 42 percent. That is 5 percent lower than two weeks ago and 8 points down from six weeks ago.

It also found found 44 percent of respondents strongly oppose the effort while just 26 percent strongly favor it. Most of the stiffest resistance comes from individuals over age 65.

The survey showed a predictable partisan split, with nearly seven in 10 Democrats favoring the overhaul and an almost equal proportion of GOP voters opposed. However, 62 percent of self-described unaffiliated voters now oppose the plan, signaling further erosion among political independents.

President Obama may be winning over the states that broke against him in the election, according to Gallup's analysis of its approval polls from the day after the inauguration through June 30.

Gallup aggregated its finding from telephone interviews with 81,022 adults, aged 18 and older, as part of its daily tracking.

The result is a picture of the states that approve of Obama's job performance the most and the least.

President Obama bears the blame for increasing the size of the deficit in a Rasmussen reports survey conducted Aug. 3 and 4.

Though 71 percent of voters in the telephone survey said current policies have increased the size of the federal deficit, more than half agreed that the current economic crisis began in the George W. Bush administration.

Five percent of survey responders said Obama's policies have cut the deficit, while 10 percent said they have had no impact and 13 percent were not sure.

Though the majority of Americans still view President Obama as more capable of handling the economy and health care than Republicans, the president's margins are shrinking, according to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted July 27-Aug. 3.

The survey of 2,409 registered voter found Obama's job approval rating stands at 50 percent -- the lowest point since Inauguration Day and 7 points lower than in early July.

Forty-nine percent of respondents disapproved of the way Obama is handling the economy, and 52 percent disapproved of the way the president is handling health care. Fifty-two percent approved of the way the president handles foreign policy.

Tax cuts were declared more important than new spending to overhaul the nation's health care system by voters surveyed by Rasmussen on Aug. 3 and 4.

In the telephone survey, 54 percent of respondents said tax cuts for the middle class outweigh health care overhaul spending, 34 percent disagreed and 12 percent said they were not sure.

Two new polls conclude that President Obama's comments on the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. have played some role in his recent ratings decline. However, they suggest the president probably has not suffered long-term damage.

Fifty-four percent of respondents to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey conducted July 31 to Aug. 3 said they agreed Obama "acted stupidly" by commenting on the case of the African-American Harvard professor taken into custody during the investigation of a reported break-in.

However, 59 percent of the 1,136 adults surveyed said Obama's comments did not change their view of the president..

And 61 percent of respondents dsid they approve of the way Obama has generally handled race relations.

Despite the birthers' best efforts, Americans believe by 77 percent to 11 percent that President Obama was, in fact, born in the U.S., according to a Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll conducted July 27-30. Twelve percent were not sure.

The group of biggest doubters were Republicans who agreed that Obama was U.S.-born by a lesser 42 percent to 28 percent with 30 percent not sure. Independents acknowledged Obama's native birth by 83 percent and Democrats by 93 percent.

Regionally, the part of the country with the most doubts was the South where 47 percent said Obama was native-born while 23 percent said he was not and 30 percent were unsure. Americans in all other regions said Obama was native-born by 87 percent or more.

President Obama's job approval rating has suffered a sharp decline as have the marks Americans give him for his handling of major issues, particularly the economy and the federal budget deficit, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted July 22-26. He also took a hit for his handling of the Henry Louis Gates controversy,

Obama's approval-to-disapproval numbers for overall performance dropped from 61 percent last month to 54 percent in July. Taken together with a rise in those disapproving the job he's doing, that amounts to an 11 point turn to the negative.

Forty-six percent of Americans disapprove of President Obama's handling of the issue of health care reform compared to 41 percent who give him positive marks, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll conducted July 24-27. Thirteen percent are undecided. That compares to the 52 percent to 40 percent disapproval of former President Clinton's push for an overhaul in 1994.

Forty-two percent say the plan Obama is pushing is a bad idea, 36 percent say it is a good idea and 17 percent have no opinion. That compares to June when 32 percent said it was a bad idea, 33 percent labeled it a good idea and 30 percent had no opinion.

Thirty-nine percent believe that under Obama's plan their health care will get worse, 29 percent say it will stay the same and 21 percent say it will get better. In April, 24 percent said it would get worse, 29 percent said it would stay the same and 22 percent said it would get better

While most Americans believe that the nation's health care system needs fundamental changes or to be completely rebuilt, 59 percent of registered voters believe that the legislation now moving through Congress will not benefit them personally compared to 31 percent who think it will, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll conducted July 24-28.

Fifty-nine percent say from what they've read or heard of the legislation that it will increase costs for most Americans while 16 percent say it will have no effect and 15 percent believe it will reduce costs.

Three-quarters of those polled say they are very or somewhat concerned that a government plan to provide health care for all Americans will raise their taxes and about the same number worry that the cost of their own health care will go up. Sixty-nine percent believe that if the government creates a system of providing health care for all Americans, the quality of their own health care will get worse, compared to 53 percent who said so in June. Sixty-two percent worried that an overhaul would require them to change doctors compared to 53 percent in June

Americans are worried over what the health care overhaul planned by President Obama and congressional Democrats may bring, with 62 percent saying it likely will raise costs in the long run, 65 percent believing the health care system will become more complicated and 56 percent concerned it will limit choice of doctors and hospitals, according to a Time Magazine poll conducted July 27-28.

Americans split at 46 percent each over whether they approved Obama's handling of the issue, but they trust Obama over congressional Republicans on health care by 47 percent to 32 percent.

President Obama is facing some ominous signs on the key issues of the economy and health care with voters demonstrating some strong skepticism about his handling of both those issues, according to a survey conducted for National Public Radio July 22-26.

However, another poll out today from George Washington University (read our post about it here) indicates that while Obama may be losing some ground, voters still favor him and his policies, along with those of congressional Democrats, more than those of the Republican opposition when measured by favorability and approval numbers and who is trusted more on a range of issues

Forty-eight 48 percent of voters said his economic policies have run up a record deficit while failing to end the recession or slow job losses while 45 percent said Obama had helped avert an even worse crisis and was building the foundation for recovery.

Still, 56 percent hold former President Bush responsible for the current state of the economy while 32 percent say the burden of responsibility has passed to Obama.

While President Obama's overall job approval numbers have slipped, voters still favor him and his policies, along with those of congressional Democrats, more than those of the Republican opposition when measured by favorability and approval numbers and who is trusted more on a range of issues, according to a George Washington University "Battleground" poll conducted July 19-23.

Reflecting findings of other polls, 48 percent viewed congressional Republicans unfavorably while 37 percent saw them in a positive light. Democrats were seen favorably by a bare 45 percent to 44 percent ratio. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is viewed unfavorably by 51 percent (including 43 percent who see her "very" unfavorably) while 32 percent see her positively, indicating that she has become a polarizing figure. The numbers on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are not very significant since 38 percent never heard of him and 16 percent had no opinion. Only 7 percent never heard of Pelosi.

President Obama's approval-to-disapproval numbers have dropped to 54 percent to 38 percent, down from 62 percent to 31 percent in early June, and voters disapprove of how he's handling health care by 45 percent to 43 percent, according to a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll conducted July 21-22. The margin of error is 3 points.

One factor in the erosion of Obama's marks is that independents now approve of his performance by a 54 percent to 36 percent ratio, a significant falloff from the 66 percent to 26 percent he enjoyed in June.

Voters are split, 49 percent to 48 percent, on whether they want Congress to pass a major health care overhaul this year. Fifty-one percent don't think the Obama administration has a clear plan for health care. Asked whether they favored or opposed the package being put together on Capitol Hill based on what they know, voters oppose it 47 percent to 36 percent.

The image of the U.S. around the world has improved markedly since Barack Obama replaced George Bush, surveyed by the Pew Research Center between May 18 and June 16.

The biggest jump in favorable views of the U.S. has been in western Europe with improvements also in key countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. There were some signs of improvement in Muslim countries but the view of Muslims in the Mideast remain unfavorable.

Americans now disapprove over the way President Obama is handling the proposed overhaul of health care by 50 percent to 44 percent, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted July 17-19.

You can see the partisan divide on this issue from the chart with 74 percent of Democrats approving, 86 percent of Republicans disapproving and 55 percent of independents disapproving.

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling health care policy?

Public trust in President Obama has dropped from 66 percent to 31 percent margin in March to a 54 percent to 42 percent ratio, according to a Politico/Public Strategies poll conducted July 9-12.

Democrats as a party took a similar hit: from a positive trust ratio of 54 percent to 41 percent in March to 43 percent who trust the Democrats and 53 percent who do not. Thirty-seven percent trust the Republicans and 57 percent do not compared to 41 percent who trusted the GOP in March and 54 percent who did not.

On the heels of a Washington Post/ABC News poll showing President Obama's approval ratings slipping on front-burner issues, a Public Policy Polling survey conducted July 15-16 saw his overall job approval rating drop from 50 percent to 43 percent with 7 percent undecided. (The Post/ABC poll still had Obama's overall rating at 59 percent to 37 percent).

Obama's rating in PPP polls had been 55 percent in May and 52 percent in June.

The poll did hypothetical match-ups with Obama pitted against four Republicans for 2012. Obama bested all of them in the PPP survey, but a Rasmussen Reports poll had less favorable news for Obama.

President Obama's approval ratings have declined some more, both overall and on his front-burner issues, according to an ABC News-Washington Post poll conducted July 15-18. The margin of error is 3 points.

Obama's overall approval rating has declined by 6 percentage points in the last month, but even with that loss, it still stands at 59 percent, while 37 percent say they disapprove.

On health care, Obama's approval rating has dropped 8 percentage points, from 57 percent to 49 percent, since April as legislation to overhaul the nation's health insurance system began taking shape, The Post reported. At the same time, overall disapproval of his handling of health care has risen to 44 percent from 29 percent. Among independents, 49 percent disapprove of his plans to alter the health care system, while 44 percent approve.

President Obama is scheduled to stump for Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine today, but a new poll from Monmouth University shows that it will take more than the president to save the vulnerable governor's campaign.

Obama received a 59 percent job approval rating from likely voters surveyed while Corzine received a 41 percent favorability rating. Christie received a 50 percent favorability rating.

Gallup's latest approval-to-disapproval ration based on July 10-12 polling was 58 percent to 36 percent, but the pollster provided a further analysis today looking behind those numbers and found a big divide in the reasons behind Americans' opinions.

The biggest factor in the approval numbers was the public's view of Obama's "leadership." Fifty-four center said they saw him favorably because of that factor, but of those who disapprove of Obama's performance, 65 percent attributed their opinion to their view of his leadership. Obama's stand on issues accounted for 17 percent of those who approve his performance compared to 24 percent who cited this for their disapproval. Fifteen percent liked Obama for his personal characteristics, while 24 percent of those in the disapproval camp did not.

Among those who liked Obama for his leadership, the biggest group (31 percent) said he was doing a good job under difficult circumstances. The biggest group among those who disapprove of Obama's leadership (24 percent) say it is because he is spending too much.

Americans favor passage of a major health care system overhaul this year by 56 percent to 33 percent although there is a sharp partisan divide on the issue and many shades of opinions on specific proposals, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted July 10-12.

The (minority) of Americans who believe the economy is getting better has dropped since last month and that's taken a toll on President Obama's approval rating which also fell since June, according to a CBS News poll conducted July 9-12.

Obama's approval to disapproval ratio is now 57 percent to 32 percent, still respectable, but a falloff from the 63 percent to 26 percent numbers he enjoyed in early June. That coincided with the percentage of Americans who believed the economy was getting better dropping from 27 percent to 21 percent, and those believing it was getting worse rising from 25 percent to 33 percent. Forty-five percent believed it was staying about the same.

Forty-nine percent percent of voters are opposed to the health care overhaul plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats, while 46 percent are for it, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted July 10-11. Two weeks ago, voters supported the plan 50 percent to 45 percent.

Opposition is higher among voters who have health insurance: 43 percent favor the plan but 52 percent oppose it. Those who strongly oppose it outnumber those who strongly favor it by two-to-one - 40 percent to to 20 percent.

Congressional passage of the plan by August, as the president had hoped, now seems unlikely, with Democrats arguing primarily over how to meet its estimated $1 trillion price tag. But public opinion could shift in either direction if agreement is reached and as details of the plan become clearer.

President Obama's job approval rating has slipped from an average of 61 percent in June to 58 percent for the first eight days of July, with the largest of the drop being among independents, according to Gallup's tracking polls conducted July 1-8.

Obama started out the year with a 62 percent job approval rating among independents and now that has fallen to 53 percent. It was 59 percent in June. A Quinnipiac University poll conducted in late June also found erosion of independents' support for Obama.

Gallup said that, compared to where other first term presidents stood in July, Obama's approval rating is above-average only compared to Bill Clinton.

The two Democrat hopefuls to replace retiring GOP Sen. George Voinovich, Jennifer Brunner and Lee Fisher, are running neck-and-neck for the party's nomination, but both of them would lead (although, in one case, not by much) the two GOP candidates they were matched up against in a Quinnipiac University poll conducted June 26 - July 1.

Barack Obama's approval ratings after six months in office still range from 57 percent to 65 percent depending on which of the latest polls you choose, but he should be on notice that the so-called "honeymoon" period for newly-minted presidents has fallen since the Nixon administration, according to Gallup.

Gallup says that the honeymoon period - where chief executives are still enjoying approval ratings of 55 percent or more - lasted an average 26 months after they took office, while presidents since Gerald Ford only logged an average of seven months.

While President Obama's approval-to-disapproval numbers after months in office remain a more than respectable 57 percent to 33 percent, his standing among independents has moved in a negative direction by a net 12 points, according to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted June 23-29.

Fifty-two percent of independents approve of Obama's performance compared to 37 percent who don't, a falloff from the 57 percent to 30 percent standing with them he enjoyed in early June.

That said, there was a modest rise in the number of voters who are satisfied with the way things are going in the country. Thirty-nine percent are very or somewhat satisfied compared to 60 percent who are somewhat dissatisfied (only 5 percent were "very satisfied). That compared to 36 percent who counted themselves as satisfied in April and 63 percent who weren't satisfied.

Laying down some markers on what they want or don't in a health care overhaul, 69 percent of voters said Americans should have the option of a public plan that competes with private insurers, but only 29 percent said they would use it, according to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted June 23-29.

A CNN/Opinion Research poll, conducted June 26-28, found support for President Obama's health care proposal at 54 percent to 45 percent with another 54 percent concerned their health care costs will increase if it passes and only 17 percent believing they would decrease.

In the Quinnipiac poll, nearly three-quarters of voters said they would not be willing to pay more taxes, or would not be willing to pay more than $500 a year, for an overhaul plan that reduces costs and covers the uninsured. Forty-five percent were in the no additional taxes category, while 27 percent said they were willing to pay more if the tab was under $500. Fifteen percent were willing to pay between $500 and $1,000 more.

A CNN/Essence Magazine, Opinion Research poll conducted last month found significant differences in the way blacks and whites view issues such as racial discrimination and the presidency of Barack Obama.

Fifty-five percent of black Americans say racial discrimination remains a serious problem, about the same level as it was in 2000. Another 28 percent of blacks see racial discrimination as "somewhat serious." Whites have a significantly different perspective with 17 percent believing discrimination continued to be a very serious problem and 39 percent saying it was somewhat serious.

President Obama enjoys a job approval rating of 65 percent, slightly lower than in the three previous months, but his approval levels when it comes to his handling of specific issues - while nearly all positive - are lower than his personal marks, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted June 18-21. These findings generally track with several major polls released last week.

Obama's approval falls below 50 percent on the issue of the federal deficit, and 87 percent say they are concerned about its size. Fifty-six percent of those described themselves as very concerned. And his margin over congressional Republicans in terms of whom the public trusts more on the economy, while still large, fell 13 points since April.

Well, it's clearly "job approval" week, and now Gallup has weighed in with its measure of how the public thinks Barack Obama is doing. His report card mark: 58 percent approve of his performance, down from 63 percent in the last poll. Thirty-three percent disapprove (his disapproval high was 34 percent). The poll was conducted June 16-18.

Obama's approval rating since January has averaged 63 percent thought it dipped to 59 percent on four occasions. The fall-off in the latest poll's score was driven mostly by a drop in approval among independents (from 60 percent down to 53 percent) and Republicans (from 25 percent to 21 percent).

President Obama still enjoys a 61 percent job approval rating and 65 percent are optimistic about his economic policies, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted June 10-14. But his approval rating when it comes specifically to his performance on top issues has fallen, a finding in line with two other major polls released yesterday.

The public approves of Obama's performance on the economy by 52 percent to 40 percent, down from 60 percent to 33 percent in April. It approves of his handling ofd foreign policy by 57 percent to 31 percent, compared to 61 percent to 22 percent in April. On dealing with financial institutions, his approval ratio is 50 percent to 40 percent while his approach to the problems of U.S. automakers gets a bare 47 percent to 44 percent approval mark, which is within the poll's 3 point margin of error.

The rubber is meeting the road in the presidency of Barack Obama. While his job approval ratings remain high, Americans are focusing in on his policies and a substantial number are concerned with the way his recovery and other major proposals are expanding the deficit, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll conducted June 12-16.

The poll found that support for his proposals on a range of issues - health care, rescuing the auto industry and closing Guantánamo - fall short of his general job approval ratings.

President Obama is starting to move out of his "charismatic and charming leader" phase with the public to judgments on how he is handling challenges facing the country, with concerns growing about the budget deficit and the extent of government intervention into the economy, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll conducted June 12-15.

Fifty-eight percent of those polled said Obama and Congress should focus on keeping the deficit down even if it slows economic recovery. Sixty-nine percent said they had concerns about federal intervention in the economy whether it was taking an ownership stake in General Motors, limiting executive compensation or getting more involved in health care. Thirty percent did not share that level of concern. Today, the Obama administration took that a step further with its proposal for broader regulation of the financial system.

About two-thirds of voters believe that President Obama has not been tough enough with the two nations - North Korea and Iran - that have raised serious concerns about their nuclear ambitions, and those numbers include a majority of Democrats, according to a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll conducted June 9-10.

Sixty-nine percent say Obama has not been tough enough on North Korea, including 65 percent of Democrats, and 66 percent say he has not been tough enough on Iran, including 57 percent of Democrats.

Americans are split at 41 percent each over the idea of creating a government-run insurance plan to compete with private health insurance companies as President Obama has proposed, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll released today.

Obama says that such a proposal would reduce costs but Americans disagree by 40 percent to 32 percent. Sixty-three percent predicted a government-run health insurance company would lose money and only 20 percent believe that's not likely. Americans believe by 49 percent to 34 percent that private insurers will provide better service and more choices than the government.

Americans think the country is heading on the right track by 52 percent to 42 percent margin with 6 percent undecided, according to an Ipsos/McClatchy poll conducted June 4-8. That's a hair less than a month ago, but an improvement compared to two months ago when the result when 48 percent said "wrong track" and 45 percent said "right track."

Obama's approval rating was 64 percent to 32 percent with 3 percent having "mixed feelings." That broke down to 40 percent strongly approving of his job performance, 14 percent "somewhat" approving and 10 percent leaning towards approval. That result, too, was similar to a month ago.

The reverse was too for Congress where the disapproval ratio was 52 percent to 39 percent with 7 percent having mixed feelings. Ten percent strongly approved of the job Congress was doing and 25 strongly disapproved.

Hannah Montana ... running a poor fourth (Getty)

President Obama trumps the Pope and Tiger Woods when it comes to who voters would rather meet and have their picture taken with, and Hannah Montana runs a distant fourth, according to a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll conducted June 9-10. (Question 54 in the poll).

Obama managed to eke out a 2-to-1 victory over the closest contenders among three other choices provided by Fox, with 42 percent wanting to pose with him, compared to 22 percent who picked Woods, 21 percent who preferred the Pontiff and only 5 percent who felt drawn to Montana.

There was a sharp partisan divide on this question. Republicans favored Woods by 34 percent although the Pope was a close second at 31 percent, so His Holiness managed at least a statistical tie for second among this group since the margin of error was 3 points. Obama got 16 percent and Montana again brought up the rear at 7 percent. Independents chose Obama over Woods by 38 percent to 28 percent, with the Pope at 18 percent and Montana at 4 percent. Sixty-eight percent of Democrats picked Obama as a photo-mate, with the Pope at 16 percent and Montana and Woods in single digits.

There's something to read into that, but we don't know quite what.

One more Fox you-need-to-know result: Although President Obama says he has quit smoking cigarettes, 37 percent of voters believe he is still sneaking in some smokes while 30 percent believe he has completely quit. (Thirty-three percent wouldn't hazard a guess).

Sixty-two percent of voters support President Obama's push for a major overhaul of the health care system with 38 percent of those in the category of "strongly supporting" such action, according to a Diageo/Hotline poll conducted June 4-7.

The most solid backing for action comes from Democrats who want big changes in health care by 87 percent to 7 percent followed by independents who favor it 64 percent to 28 percent. Republicans oppose it 52 percent to 35 percent.

Centrism and the increasing number of independent voters are emerging as hallmarks of the Obama era although the "growing political middle" is "steadfastly mixed" in its beliefs, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of its polling data it has been collecting since 1987. It includes surveys this year between March 31 - April 6 and April 14-21.

Pew says the proportion of independents among the electorate is now at its highest level in 70 years. In the last five months, the percentage of independents has risen from 30 percent to 39 percent, while Democrats have slipped from 39 percent to 33 percent and Republicans from 26 percent to 22 percent.

Some independents are more conservative on several key issues because they are defectors from the Republicans. Thirty-three percent describe themselves as conservative, up from 28 percent in 2007.

Two new polls are out today looking at how the public thinks President Obama is doing in general and on specific issues, and so far, he is faring pretty well, although the percentage of Americans that disapprove of his handling of the federal deficit and controlling spending outnumber those who give him positive marks.

A Gallup poll conducted May 29-31 has Obama's overall job approval ratio at 61 percent to 34 percent which is lower than his personal favorability ratio of 67 percent to 32 percent. The margin of error is 3 points and the poll included adults, not just voters.

Sen. Orrin Hatch meeting with Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on Tuesday. (Getty)

Registered voters approve of the nomination by 55 percent to 25 percent with 20 percent undecided, according to the poll which was conducted May 26 - June 1. Democrats overwhelmingly support the choice 80 percent to 5 percent, independents agree by 53 percent to 26 percent while Republicans disapproved 47 percent to 30 percent.

President Obama is so far averaging 65 percent job approval which ranks him fourth among the last eight presidents elected to their first terms, according to a Gallup poll conducted May 1-27. Only Presidents, Reagan, Kennedy and Eisenhower did better.

Nancy Pelosi (Getty)

Forty-seven percent disapprove of the performance of Pelosi, who has been the center of a what-did-she-know-and-when-did-she-know-it controversy and who also stirred the pot by accusing the CIA of misleading Congress. Republicans have since been pounding on her over the issue. Thirty-one percent approve of her performance and 23 percent have no opinion.

President Obama at Notre Dame. (Getty)

Obama addressed the abortion issue on Sunday in delivering the commencement address at Notre Dame, where he drew a small crowd of anti-abortion protestors.

Fifty-seven percent of those polled say Obama's position on abortion has no effect on their opinion of him. Twenty-seven percent sede him less favorably because of it while 14 percent see him more favorably.

President Obama has gone into his second100 days doing slightly better in his job approval ratings than he did during the first 100, according to a Gallup tracking poll conducted May 7-9. Sixty-six percent approved of how he was doing his job during this short stretch compared to an average 63 percent from January through April.

At this early juncture, 53 percent of adults say they would definitely or probably vote for him in 2012 compared to 37 percent who would not. But the those who "definitely" would vote for or against him are matched up at 25 percent each. The figures for registered voters are about the same. Among independents, those definitely or probably for Obama number 46 percent to 40 percent who are probably or definitely against. But when "definites" are matched together among this group, those against outnumber those for Obama by 26 percent to 15 percent.

President Obama's high approval ratings seem to cut across denominational lines.

Eighty-five percent of Muslims, 79 percent of Jews and 67 percent of Catholics give the president favorable approval ratings, according to Gallup Poll daily tracking results released Friday.

Obama's performance in office was rated favorably by 73 percent of people who described themselves as nonreligious, which includes atheists and agnostics. Fifty-eight percent of protestants rated him favorably, as did a plurality of Mormons -- 45 percent.

The results are based on a sample size of 99,494 adults surveyed between Jan. 21 and April 29. The margin of error is plus or minus 0.5 percentage points.

President Obama's popularity remains high at the 100-day mark of his presidency, says a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, with tentative support for some of his most complex policy goals, including health care and energy overhauls.

On energy, 53 percent of those surveyed approved of a proposal that would require companies to reduce greenhouse gases that cause global warming, even if it would mean higher utility bills for consumers.

The numbers are not so overwhelming on health care: Without being given a description, 33 percent said Obama's plan is a good idea, vs. 26 percent who said it's a bad idea. When given a description, 56 percent said they favored the plan and 33 percent opposed it.

With nearly 100 days of policy-making under his belt, President Obama remains in sync with Americans on the issues and his personal popularity remains high, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll.

In the survey of 2,019 adults conducted April 23-26, 57 percent said Obama agrees with them "on the issues that matter most" to them, nearly even with the 60 percent that said that of Obama in a survey taken less than a week before he was elected president. As he has transitioned from promising policy to making it, Obama hasn't lost much support for his agenda. At the same time, his personal popularity is taking off, according to the poll.

While yet another poll shows that President Obama enjoys strong public approval for the way he has done his job in the first 100 days, his most recent action - ordering the release of previously secret Bush administration records about interrogation of terrorism suspects - draws far less support.

The new survey also revealed divisions on the use of torture and whether there should be an investigation into Bush administration policies.

Sixty-nine percent of the public approves of Obama's job performance compared to 26 percent who do not, a net gain of five points since March, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted April 21-24.

Since the latest 100-day approval rating poll on Barack Obama is about the same as all the rest this week, we'll start with Congress where voters approve of the job congressional Democrats are doing by 50 percent to 40 percent and disapprove of Republicans on the Hill by 52 percent to 36 percent, according to a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll conducted April 22-23.

Forty-six percent of voters say that they'd back a Democrat for Congress in 2010 to help Obama pass his programs while 33 percent would vote Republican to put a check on his power. Seventeen percent say it's too soon to make that decision.

Two-thirds of Americans give President Obama credit for trying to be bipartisan but they have a dimmer view of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, particularly the Republicans, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted April 20-21.

By 66 percent to 30 percent, the public says Obama has made a sincere effort to work with members of the opposite party. Forty-four percent believe that of congressional Democrats compared to 50 percent who do not, and only 38 percent believe the Republicans have made a sincere attempt compared to 56 percent who say they have not.

Forty-one percent of self-identified Republicans say Obama has made a sincere attempt to work with the GOP as do 62 percent of independents.

A majority of Democrats (52 percent) and Republicans (55 percent) say the overall tone and level of civility in Washington has not changed. A third of Democrats say it has improved, but only 17 percent of independents and 11 percent of Republicans agree.

The 100 day polls are being rolled out one-by-one and Gallup weighed in with its survey, conducted April 20-21, saying that President Obama has met or exceeded public expectations with his performance so far.

Similarly, an Allstate/National Journal poll conducted April 8-14 found broad support for Obama with a 61 percent job approval figure compared to 28 percent disapproving. The public believes the country is on the right track by 47 percent to 42 percent but on the economy, in specific, they say by 55 percent to 30 percent the country is headed in the wrong direction.

(Other polls on public views of Obama at the 100 day mark that came out this week were from Public Policy Polling and Pew Research Center).

In a different take on President Obama's 100-day ratings, Public Policy Polling found Obama's job approval ratings lower than in a Pew Research poll released today, but decided to take things a step further (actually four years further) and match him against potential GOP opponents in 2012. And by that measure, he's doing a lot better than potential Republican contenders.

Obama leads Newt Gingrich 52 percent to 39 percent with 9 percent undecided; Mike Huckabee by 49 percent to 42 percent with 9 percent undecided; Sarah Palin by 53 percent to 41 percent with 6 percent undecided and Mitt Romney by 50 percent to 39 percent with 11 percent undecided.

Correction: The original version of this posting incorrectly said that 20 percent of those surveyed said their one-word impression of President Obama was that he was a "Socialist." In the Pew poll, this figure represented the number of individuals in the entire sample who chose that word, and not a percentage of the entire sample.

The 100-day mark that has become a media event for gauging the first-lap of new Presidents is upon us (President Obama will mark it next Wednesday with a town hall meeting in St. Louis), and a survey by the Pew Research Center says he is reaching the milestone with higher job approval ratings than most of his predecessors.

President Obama by far commands the highest level of trust to do the right thing on the economy compared to any of the other players in government whether in his administration, on the Hill or at the Fed, Gallup poll conducted April 6-9.

Seventy-one percent said they have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in Obama compared to 51 percent for Democratic leaders in Congress, 49 percent for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, 47 percent for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and 38 percent for Republican leaders in Congress.

Nearly all Democrats put Obama on the top of their list and so do 68 percent of independents. Republicans trust their congressional leaders the most with 57 percent putting their confidence in them, with Obama second at 38 percent. Bernanke is trusted most by Democrats (64 percent). Forty-four percent of independents have confidence in him and only 36 percent of Republicans share that.

Voters approve of President Obama's handling of the economy by 54 percent to 37 percent, according to a Marist Institute poll conducted April 1-3. Democrats endorse that view by an overwhelming 83 percent to 7 percent, independents agree by 54 percent to 36 percent, and Republicans disapprove by 67 percent to 24 percent.

Obama gets positive marks by majorities in every region except the West where voters split 49 percent to 46 percent. The margin of error is 3.5 points.

The wide partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans as far as their job approval ratings of President Obama was put at 61 percent last week in a survey by the Pew Research Center and now a Gallup poll conducted March 30 April 5 sets it at 63 percent.

The partisan gap stood at 53 percent at the beginning of March and has been in the low-to-mid 60s ever since. In February, 41 percent of Republicans gave Obama a positive approval rating, which then was down to 35 percent at the start of March and has now fallen to 27 percent.

Gallup says the size of this gap exceeds the norm for many recent presidents. The average Republican-Democratic gap for seven presidents dating back to Harry Truman was 35 percent. The most polarizing presidents were Ronald Reagan (53 percent), Bill Clinton (55 percent) and George W. Bush, whose median gap was 64 percent, but hit a high of 83 percent in Fall, 2004.

President Obama's approval rating has gone up a notch since last month as has the number of Americans who believe the country is getting on the right track, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll conducted April 1-5.

Sixty-six percent approve of Obama's performance while 24 percent disapprove compared to 64 percent to 20 percent in March. Fifty-three percent still think the country is on the wrong track compared to 39 percent who say it is headed in the right direction, but that's an improvement over the 57 percent to 35 percent ratio a month earlier. That is consistent with other polls which shows the number of Americans believing the country is on the right track increasing such as a Washington Post/ABC News survey in late March.

An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that it is important for President Obama to improve U.S. relations with Muslim nations and most believe Obama will strike a strategy for doing so that is "about right," Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted March 26-29.

Eighty-one percent believe the U.S. needs to better its relations with the Muslim world compared to 18 percent who say it is not important. Sixty-five percent believe Obama will approach this challenge correctly, while 22 percent say he will go too far and 9 percent say "not far enough." In his inaugural address, Obama pledged to find a "new way forward" with Muslim countries.

Americans have an unfavorable opinion of Islam by 48 percent to 41 percent with 11 percent undecided. Fifty-eight percent regard Islam as a peaceful religion, while 29 percent say it encourages violence, with 13 percent undecided.

A couple of polls today tackled the question: are we getting too much of Barack Obama?

(Getty)

Republicans have a different point of view. Fifty-nine percent of them say they have heard too much.

Becoming President much change perceptions because, last August, 48 percent said they were hearing too much about Obama compared to 41 percent said it was the right amount.

Most voters still have a pretty bleak view of the state of the economy and the direction of the country but 47 percent say they would put the blame on former President Bush rather than Barack Obama if the economy doesn't improve or worsens in the next six months, according to a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll conducted March 31 - April 1. A quarter of voters would blame Obama, 9 percent would blame both a nd 15 percent say neither.

Twenty-nine percent finger corporate leaders as the biggest culprits in precipitating the financial crisis, 23 percent point to the Bush administration, 19 percent blame congressional leaders and 5 percent say Obama.

President Obama and congressional Democrats continue to ride significantly higher than Republicans in public opinion with a majority of voters saying they trust Obama more the GOP lawmakers on the economy, and Hill Republicans getting much lower job approval marks than their Democratic counterparts, according to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted March 24-30.

Voters pick Obama over congressional Republicans on handling the economy by 55 percent to 27 percent with 18 percent undecided. Judged by himself, 55 percent approve of Obama's handling of the economy compared to 37 percent who don't.

The number of Americans believing that the country is on the right track is still a minority but it has jumped since February to its highest level since 2004, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted March 26-29.

It also was clear from the poll that the public is not yet ready to assign the responsibility for the current state of the economy to President Obama. Asked whom they blamed most for the country's economic plight, 80 percent singled out the banks, 80 percent blamed business in general, 72 percent blamed consumers, 70 percent fingered former President Bush and only 26 percent named Obama.

Americans are almost evenly divided on President Obama's handling of the AIG bonuses with 42 percent disapproving and 41 percent approving of his performance, according to a CBS News poll conducted March 20-22. Seventeen percent were undecided. Fifty-seven percent of Democrats give Obama good marks but 65 percent of Republicans and a plurality of independents (44 percent) do not.

That result differences from a Gallup poll released earlier today which said Americans were satisfied with Obama's handling of the matter by 54 percent to 39 percent.

Timothy Geithner (Getty)

The public is satisfied with Obama's performance by 54 percent to 39 percent, but they are dissatisfied with AIG management by 80 percent to 12 percent, with Congress by 65 percent to 26 percent, and Geithner by 54 percent to 28 percent. The poll was taken before Geithner's unveiling yesterday of a detailed plan for buying up the troubled assets of banks which, although a different issue, at least got him a positive mark from Wall Street where the Dow Jones average jumped 497.48 points.

Voters are divided almost evenly about their opinion of Barack Obama's $3.6 trillion budget and more than three-quarters expressed concern that he is increasing government spending too much, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted March 16-17.

The survey said 45 percent held an unfavorable view of the budget compared to 44 percent who had a favorable opinion of it. Twelve percent were undecided. But on the question of how concerned they were that the government would end up spending too much, 76 percent said they were very or somewhat concerned compared to 21 percent who were not very or at all concerned. And those that put themselves in the "very concerned" category added up to 49 percent.

This mixed bag of views was reflected also in responses to the question about whether Obama's budget would hurt, help or have no impact on the economy. Voters said by 43 percent to 37 percent that it would help while 12 percent predicted it would have no impact.

More Americans are seeing Barack Obama as listening more to his party's liberal wing than to moderates and this has caused his approval ratings to slip, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted March 9-12.

Fifty-nine percent of Americans approved of the job Obama was doing compared to 26 percent who disapproved, a net loss of 14 points compared to his 64 percent to 17 percent rating in February.

In other polls today:

• Gallup puts Obama's approval-to-disapproval ratio at 61 percent to 28 percent in a poll conducted March 13-15. In late February, it had been 67 percent to 21 percent.

• CNN/Opinion Research put his approval rating at 64 percent, down three points since mid-February.

Echoing a Gallup poll released yesterday, a Rassmussen Reports survey today says a majority of Americans - 52 percent to 38 person - agreed with Barack Obama's decision to lift the federal funding ban on stem cell research.

Seventy percent of those polled believe the research is at least somewhat likely to lead to cures for previously incurable diseases compared to 22 percent who say it is unlikely.

Last month, we posted a Gallup poll that compared Barack Obama's approval ratings after one month in office to past presidents for the same time period. Gallup put him about in the middle in terms of job approval ratings. Karl Rove, on his site, has constructed a nice graphic which we thought we'd share.

Sixty-five percent of voters are very or somewhat confident that Barack Obama will be able to turn around the economy while 33 percent are not too confident or not confident at all, according to a Newsweek/ Princeton Research poll conducted March 4-5. That's a net 13 point swing towards fewer people expressing confidence in Obama than Newsweek's mid-January poll.

When it comes to Obama's $787.2 billion economic stimulus plan, 40 percent call it a good start but say more spending is needed, 37 percent say it won't work and 15 percent say it's the right amount.

Congressional Republicans come out on the losing end of yet another poll when matched against Barack Obama and Democratic lawmakers on job approval ratings. Obama's approval to disapproval numbers are 67 percent to 27 percent and congressional Democrats score 49 percent to 45 percent, while the Republicans register 60 percent disapproval compared to 34 percent who see them positively, according to a Diageo/Hotline poll conducted Feb. 28 - March 2.

Seventy percent of registered voters express confidence in Obama compared to 28 percent who do not. They expressed confidence in Obama and his administration to turn around the economy by 64 percent to 33 percent.

Sixty-three percent of voters believe Barack Obama's priorities and polices are likely to significantly help the country compared to 25 percent who say they will do serious harm, according to a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll conducted March 3-4. Republicans come down on the "serious harm" side by a 54 percent to 32 percent margin.

Fifty-eight percent say Obama is keeping the promises he made during the campaign while 28 percent say he is drifting off course. When asked whether the nation's economy would benefit more from following the economic policies of Ronald Reagan, voters came down on Obama's side by 49 percent to 40 percent.

Congress takes its usual lumps with voters saying by 48 percent to 41 percent that they disapprove of the job it's doing, but that's a whole lot better than public opinion of lawmakers in mid January when the disapproval margin 68 percent to 23 percent. Sixty percent said they trust their own judgment more than members of Congress when it comes to important national issues.