December 9, 2009 - Obama Approval Falls To New Low, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; U.S. Voters Oppose Health Care Plan By Wide Margin Word format American voters give President Barack Obama a split 46 - 44 percent job approval, his lowest ever, and both the health care reform package that he wants Congress to pass and his personal rating on handling health care now win support from less than four in 10 Americans, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Voters disapprove 52 - 38 percent of the health care reform proposal under consideration in Congress, and they disapprove 56 - 38 percent of President Obama's handling of health care, down from 53 - 41 percent in a November 19 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh- pe-ack) University. But voters support 56 - 38 percent giving people the option of being covered by a government health insurance plan, compared to 57 - 35 percent November 19. American voters trust Obama more than Republicans in Congress to handle health care 44 - 37 percent, down from 45 - 36 percent three weeks ago. Voters disapprove 58 - 30 percent of the way Republicans in Congress are doing their job, and disapprove 56 - 33 percent of Democrats in Congress. American voters say 63 - 30 percent that extending health insurance to all will raise their cost of health care, although they are split 47 - 46 percent on whether they are willing to pay more to make sure everyone is covered. Voters split 48 - 46 percent on whether they think covering everyone will decrease the quality of their own care, but by 71 - 21 percent they do not think universal coverage is worth lower quality of care. "It's a good thing for those pushing the health care overhaul in Congress that the American people don't get a vote. At this time, supporters are down 14 percentage points," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "President Barack Obama's job approval rating continues to slide and it's evident the deterioration stems from voter unhappiness over domestic policy matters," Brown added. American voters disapprove 54 - 41 percent of Obama's handling of the economy, down from a 52 - 43 percent disapproval November 18 and his worst score ever on this issue. The biggest shift is among Democrats who approve 71 - 24 percent, down from 77 - 18 percent three weeks ago. The biggest drop in Obama's overall approval is among independent voters, who disapprove 51 - 37 percent, down from 46 - 43 percent disapproval. The President's support declines as one goes up the age and income scale. Analyzed by religion, Obama gets a thumbs up from 32 percent of white Protestants, 42 percent of white Roman Catholics and 52 percent of Jews. "The decline in Obama's overall approval in the last month has been small, with the exception of independent voters who went from three points negative to 14 points," Brown said. "If the trend continues, it won't be long before he could be in the unenviable position of having more Americans disapprove than approve of his job performance. "The White House certainly is concerned about Obama's approval rating, but the President has three years before facing the voters again. With just 11 months until congressional elections, the White House and all Democrats must worry about the steady deterioration in their lead over the GOP in congressional job performance. Now, only 33 percent give the Democrats in Congress a positive rating, compared to 30 percent for Republicans. Last July Democrats had a nine point edge. "Also, the 20-point lead in July and nine point lead in November that Obama enjoyed when voters were asked who they trusted more to handle health care - he or congressional Republicans - has shrunk to just seven points, 44 - 37 percent." From December 1 - 6, Quinnipiac University surveyed 2,313 registered voters nationwide with a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 46% 17% 80% 37% 42% 51% 38% 89% 65% Disapprove 44 75 11 51 50 38 51 6 28 DK/NA 10 8 9 11 8 11 11 6 6 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 56% 44% 42% 49% 45% 44% 74% 56% 21% Disapprove 32 49 47 40 47 49 16 33 72 DK/NA 12 7 11 11 8 8 10 10 7 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Military Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Households Approve 44% 51% 23% 32% 42% 52% 41% Disapprove 45 41 68 57 50 35 49 DK/NA 11 8 9 10 9 13 10 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? (*High also 59% Mar 2009) APPROVE....... High Low Dec 9 Nov 18 Oct 8 Aug 6 July 2 Jun 4 Dec 9 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009* 2009 Approve 46 48 50 50 57 59 46 Disapprove 44 42 41 42 33 31 44 DK/NA 10 10 9 9 10 10 10 INDEPENDENTS......................................... APPROVE...... High Low Dec 9 Nov 18 Oct 8 Aug 6 July 2 Jun 4 Dec 9 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 Approve 37 43 45 45 52 57 37 Disapprove 51 46 44 45 37 30 51 DK/NA 11 11 11 10 11 13 11 2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Democrats in Congress are handling their job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 33% 12% 62% 22% 29% 36% 27% 66% 45% Disapprove 56 80 28 66 63 50 63 26 34 DK/NA 11 8 10 12 8 14 10 8 20 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 40% 31% 30% 36% 28% 32% 55% 37% 17% Disapprove 45 61 60 51 63 64 34 51 76 DK/NA 15 8 11 13 9 4 11 12 7 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Military Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Households Approve 32% 35% 16% 20% 29% 46% 25% Disapprove 56 58 74 70 62 48 66 DK/NA 12 7 10 10 8 6 10 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Democrats in Congress are handling their job? (*Low also 33% Oct 2009) APPROVE...... High Low Dec 9 Nov 19 Oct 8 Aug 6 July 2 Mar 4 Dec 9 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009* Approve 33 36 33 35 38 45 33 Disapprove 56 55 56 55 50 45 56 DK/NA 11 9 11 10 12 10 11 3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling their job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 30% 53% 18% 25% 30% 29% 31% 27% 29% Disapprove 58 36 72 62 60 57 58 62 51 DK/NA 12 12 10 12 10 14 11 12 20 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 34% 29% 28% 32% 27% 29% 18% 25% 41% Disapprove 50 62 60 55 60 63 75 62 48 DK/NA 16 9 12 13 13 8 7 13 10 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Military Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Households Approve 31% 26% 37% 36% 30% 25% 30% Disapprove 55 66 51 53 61 66 57 DK/NA 13 9 12 11 9 10 13 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling their job? APPROVE...... High Low Dec 9 Nov 19 Oct 8 Aug 6 July 2 Nov 19 Oct 8 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 Approve 30 31 25 29 29 31 25 Disapprove 58 58 64 59 57 58 64 DK/NA 12 11 11 12 14 11 11 4. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in the nation today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Very satisfied 3% 3% 5% 1% 2% 4% 1% 11% 2% Smwht satisfied 26 12 42 21 24 27 21 46 32 Smwht dissatisfied 32 29 33 32 31 32 34 21 33 Very dissatisfied 39 56 18 44 42 36 43 18 29 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 1 - 4 4 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Very satisfied 3% 3% 3% 3% 2% 2% 6% 1% 2% Smwht satisfied 32 23 24 26 24 29 39 32 12 Smwht dissatisfied 36 31 29 33 33 33 32 37 27 Very dissatisfied 27 42 42 37 41 35 21 29 58 DK/NA 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Military Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Households Very satisfied 3% 2% 2% 2% 1% 6% 3% Smwht satisfied 24 31 13 18 25 30 19 Smwht dissatisfied 31 34 31 33 32 34 32 Very dissatisfied 41 33 54 47 41 29 46 DK/NA 1 - - - 1 - 1 TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in the nation today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? VERY+SMWHT SAT High Low Dec 9 Nov 19 Oct 8 Aug 6 July 2 Dec 11 Nov 13 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2001 2008 Very satisfied 3 3 3 4 5 21 2 Smwht satisfied 26 27 27 31 34 47 14 Smwht dissatisfied 32 30 31 30 29 19 38 Very dissatisfied 39 39 38 34 31 10 44 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 5. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - the economy? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 41% 14% 71% 33% 36% 46% 33% 85% 49% Disapprove 54 82 24 60 60 48 61 13 46 DK/NA 5 4 4 7 4 6 6 2 4 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 47% 39% 39% 44% 37% 40% 67% 49% 19% Disapprove 45 57 56 51 58 57 26 46 77 DK/NA 8 4 5 6 5 3 7 6 4 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Military Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Households Approve 38% 48% 20% 27% 36% 52% 35% Disapprove 55 49 77 68 57 45 59 DK/NA 6 3 3 5 7 3 6 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - the economy? APPROVE...... High Low Dec 9 Nov 18 Oct 8 Aug 6 July 2 Mar 4 Dec 9 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 Approve 41 43 47 45 52 57 41 Disapprove 54 52 46 49 42 33 54 DK/NA 5 5 7 6 6 10 5 7. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - health care? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 38% 10% 67% 32% 35% 41% 29% 86% 59% Disapprove 56 86 27 61 59 53 65 11 36 DK/NA 6 4 6 7 6 6 7 3 5 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 47% 36% 34% 39% 36% 37% 64% 46% 16% Disapprove 44 60 58 53 60 58 28 48 79 DK/NA 9 4 7 8 4 4 8 6 5 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Military Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Households Approve 37% 42% 17% 23% 31% 49% 31% Disapprove 57 54 79 71 64 45 63 DK/NA 7 5 4 6 5 6 6 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - health care? Dec 9 Nov 19 Oct 8 Aug 5 July 2 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 Approve 38 41 41 39 46 Disapprove 56 53 51 52 42 DK/NA 6 6 8 9 13 9. Who do you trust to do a better job handling health care - President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His President Obama 44% 9% 81% 37% 40% 49% 36% 86% 65% Reps in Congress 37 75 10 37 41 33 44 6 24 DK/NA 19 16 9 26 19 18 20 8 11 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con President Obama 55% 41% 40% 47% 41% 43% 79% 53% 17% Reps in Congress 32 42 36 34 44 41 11 27 63 DK/NA 13 17 24 19 16 16 10 20 19 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Military Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Households President Obama 43% 48% 20% 28% 38% 61% 38% Reps in Congress 37 36 61 53 38 32 43 DK/NA 20 16 19 19 24 7 20 TREND: Who do you trust to do a better job handling health care - President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Dec 9 Nov 19 Oct 8 Aug 5 July 1 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 President Obama 44 45 47 46 53 Reps in Congress 37 36 31 37 33 DK/NA 19 19 21 16 14 10. From what you've heard or read, do you mostly approve or mostly disapprove of the proposed changes to the health care system under consideration in Congress? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Mostly approve 38% 11% 65% 32% 34% 41% 31% 77% 53% Mostly disapprove 52 82 25 57 57 48 60 13 38 DK/NA 10 7 11 11 9 11 10 10 9 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Mostly approve 53% 35% 30% 39% 36% 40% 67% 44% 16% Mostly disapprove 39 56 57 48 58 56 26 45 75 DK/NA 8 8 13 13 7 4 7 11 8 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Military Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Households Mostly approve 35% 45% 18% 23% 35% 49% 32% Mostly disapprove 53 49 74 66 57 47 60 DK/NA 12 5 8 11 9 5 8 11. Do you support or oppose giving people the option of being covered by a government health insurance plan that would compete with private plans? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Support 56% 29% 81% 55% 53% 60% 50% 86% 78% Oppose 38 64 14 40 43 33 44 7 19 DK/NA 6 7 5 5 5 7 6 7 3 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Support 68% 57% 48% 60% 53% 55% 84% 66% 33% Oppose 29 38 43 34 41 42 13 29 61 DK/NA 3 5 9 6 6 3 3 5 6 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Military Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Households Support 56% 58% 37% 44% 52% 66% 52% Oppose 37 38 58 50 44 23 41 DK/NA 7 3 6 6 4 11 7 TREND: Do you support or oppose giving people the option of being covered by a government health insurance plan that would compete with private plans? Dec 9 Nov 19 Oct 8 Aug 5 July 1 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 Support 56 57 61 62 69 Oppose 38 35 34 32 26 DK/NA 6 8 6 6 5 12. President Obama has pledged that health insurance reform will not add to our federal budget deficit over the next decade. Do you think that President Obama will be able to keep his promise or do you think any health care plan that Congress passes and President Obama signs will add to the federal budget deficit? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Keep promise 19% 6% 37% 11% 16% 21% 14% 48% 20% Add to deficit 74 90 53 82 78 70 80 37 75 DK/NA 7 4 10 7 6 8 6 15 4 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Keep promise 23% 17% 17% 21% 13% 20% 36% 19% 8% Add to deficit 71 77 73 71 83 77 56 74 86 DK/NA 6 5 11 8 4 4 8 7 6 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Military Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Households Keep promise 18% 21% 10% 11% 12% 24% 16% Add to deficit 74 74 85 83 82 71 79 DK/NA 8 5 5 6 6 5 5 TREND: President Obama has pledged that health insurance reform will not add to our federal budget deficit over the next decade. Do you think that President Obama will be able to keep his promise or do you think any health care plan that Congress passes and President Obama signs will add to the federal budget deficit? Dec 9 Nov 19 Oct 8 Aug 5 2009 2009 2009 2009 Keep promise 19 19 19 21 Add to deficit 74 72 71 72 DK/NA 7 9 9 7 13. Do you think that extending health insurance to all Americans would increase your health care costs or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Yes 63% 83% 44% 66% 63% 63% 65% 50% 65% No 30 12 47 27 31 29 27 41 32 DK/NA 7 5 9 7 6 8 8 9 3 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Yes 58% 64% 64% 60% 68% 66% 39% 56% 82% No 35 31 25 31 27 31 52 36 13 DK/NA 7 5 10 8 5 3 9 8 5 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Military Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Households Yes 64% 60% 74% 71% 64% 53% 69% No 28 35 20 21 30 42 26 DK/NA 8 5 6 8 7 5 6 14. Do you think that extending health insurance to all Americans is worth increasing your health care costs or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Yes 47% 20% 69% 47% 42% 51% 43% 65% 54% No 46 70 26 45 50 41 49 28 40 DK/NA 7 9 5 8 7 8 8 6 6 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Yes 51% 49% 41% 47% 47% 52% 76% 57% 22% No 42 46 47 43 48 45 22 36 69 DK/NA 7 5 12 10 5 3 3 6 9 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Military Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Households Yes 44% 55% 31% 37% 44% 47% 46% No 48 38 62 54 49 38 47 DK/NA 8 6 7 9 7 15 8 15. Do you think that extending health insurance to all Americans would decrease your quality of health care or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Yes 48% 73% 26% 50% 54% 42% 53% 27% 38% No 46 21 68 44 42 50 41 69 56 DK/NA 6 6 6 5 4 8 6 4 6 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Yes 45% 50% 48% 45% 52% 51% 20% 41% 70% No 53 47 41 49 43 44 74 54 23 DK/NA 3 4 10 7 5 4 6 5 7 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Military Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Households Yes 50% 43% 63% 58% 51% 48% 52% No 44 52 29 35 44 52 42 DK/NA 6 5 7 7 5 1 5 16. Do you think that extending health insurance to all Americans is worth decreasing your quality of health care or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Yes 21% 11% 30% 20% 23% 20% 19% 34% 18% No 71 84 62 73 69 73 73 60 77 DK/NA 7 5 8 7 7 7 7 5 5 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Yes 27% 19% 22% 23% 19% 18% 35% 24% 11% No 69 77 66 68 76 76 56 69 83 DK/NA 4 5 12 8 4 5 9 7 6 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Military Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Households Yes 22% 21% 15% 17% 17% 24% 22% No 71 72 79 75 76 68 70 DK/NA 7 8 6 8 7 8 9
