There is a new poll from Fox News/Opinion Dynamics which has - gulp - good news for President Obama! It comes in two parts, Here is the link to main pdf, here is a the link to the security portion, and a summary of choice items appears below.
First up: Obama's approval rating is +8, with 50% approving and 42% disapproving. This same poll in November showed 46%/46% approve/disapprove.
Then this stunner:
- Do you approve or disapprove of how the Obama administration handled the attempted bombing of a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day?
Approve 51%
Disapprove 33%
Don't know 16%
In response to the question "is the country better or worse off than it was a year ago", 45% said better, 39% said worse, and 13% said same.
I love this one:
12. If John McCain had become president, do you think he would be doing a better job, a worse job, or about the same kind of job as President Obama?
* Better 26%
* Worse 40%
* Same as 27%
This one is also interesting:
23. Who do you think is more responsible for the current state of the economy - - President Obama, former President Bush or Congress?
* Obama 6%
* Bush 36%
* Congress 30%
* Combination 20%
If you are like me, you might be saying 30% Congress? WTF?? The explanation lies in the internals:
Democrats: Obama 4%, Bush 61%, Congress 16%
Republicans: Obama 9%, Bush 13%, Congress 50%
Independents: Obama 7%, Bush 28%, Congress 27%
Basically, Republicans are still unable to bring themselves to face reality and so have to find a scapegoat to blame for their economic fiasco.
What I find truly amazing is that not only did FOX news produce this poll, but their sample contained 39% Democrats, 34% Republicans, and 20% Independents - which to my mind, at least, means that Republicans were over-represented in the sample.