January 18, 2011 - Most American Voters See Economy Improving, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Almost Half Want Health Care Repeal Word format American voters say 54 - 43 percent that the economy is beginning to recover and more voters give President Barack Obama credit for the upturn, but by 48 - 43 percent they want Congress to repeal his health care overhaul, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. The country is in recession, 73 percent of voters say, although that number is down from 79 percent in a July 22 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. Voters think 46 - 28 percent that President Obama's policies will help rather than hurt the economy. But voters say 32 - 29 percent that Obama's policies will hurt rather than help their personal financial situation, while 36 percent say these policies won't make a difference. American voters say 51 - 41 percent that the U.S. should not be involved in Afghanistan, the lowest level of support for this war since Obama became president. The key to the public support for repealing the new health care law is among independent voters who want it taken off the books 54 - 37 percent. Republicans agree 83 - 12 percent, while Democrats support the health care reform 76 - 16 percent. Men want it repealed 53 - 40 percent, while women are split with 46 percent in favor of health care reform and 44 percent for repeal. White voters support repeal 56 - 37 percent, while black voters say let the law stand 75 - 15 percent and Hispanics want to keep the law 51 - 28 percent. "The Republicans pushing repeal of the health care law have more American people on their side. They may not have the votes in the Senate, but they have many on Main Street," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "While President Obama's poll rating has improved in recent weeks, the coalition against his health care plan remains and is quite similar to the one that existed when his numbers were at their nadir." Another sign of improvement for Obama is that American voters trust him more than congressional Republicans 46 - 39 percent to handle the economy. That compares to a November 17 Quinnipiac University survey when voters trusted Republicans more 45 - 42 percent. "Voters aren't exactly jumping for joy about the economy, but they think it has turned the corner," said Brown. "Last July only 44 percent thought the recovery had begun and slightly more voters give President Obama's policies credit for righting the ship. Overall, the numbers aren't a ringing endorsement of Obamanomics, but they are a step in the right direction for him. "There is something of a disconnect between how people view the overall economy and their own finances when it comes to Obama's policies. Whether in the end that means they give him a thumbs up or down in November 2012 is an interesting question." "Although the 73 percent of voters who still see the economy as in recession is down from 79 percent in July, Obama needs for that number to drop significantly. "History is not replete with cases where presidents have been re-elected when three in four voters think the country is in recession." Looking at other measures of Obama's job performance, American voters: Disapprove 53 - 40 percent of the way he is handling the economy; Disapprove 51 - 44 percent of the way he is handling health care; Approve 46 - 40 percent of the way he is handling Afghanistan; Disapprove 51 - 41 percent of the way he is creating jobs; Disapprove 50 - 41 percent of the way he is handling taxes; Approve 54 - 32 percent of the way he is handling gays in the military. From January 4 - 11, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,647 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. 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. 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 8 64 22 29 37 27 63 50 Disapprove 58 86 25 68 63 53 64 30 38 DK/NA 9 6 11 10 8 11 9 7 12 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 40 30 31 35 32 30 54 35 19 Disapprove 50 61 60 55 60 63 37 55 74 DK/NA 10 9 10 10 8 6 9 10 7 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Approve 33 32 19 22 25 Disapprove 57 60 72 69 63 DK/NA 10 7 9 9 12 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Democrats in Congress are handling their job? PstHlth PreHlth APPROVE..... VtPoll VtPoll High Low Jan 18 Nov 17 Sep 09 Mar 25 Mar 25 Mar 04 Nov 17 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 Approve 33 27 30 36 30 45 27 Disapprove 58 66 60 55 62 45 66 DK/NA 9 7 10 9 8 10 7 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 58 15 26 31 30 33 20 22 Disapprove 57 33 76 56 55 58 55 69 57 DK/NA 13 10 8 18 14 12 13 10 21 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 32 32 28 30 31 32 15 30 41 Disapprove 51 58 59 57 59 57 76 58 44 DK/NA 16 11 13 13 11 11 10 12 15 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Approve 31 28 40 37 32 Disapprove 55 61 45 51 51 DK/NA 14 11 15 12 17 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling their job? PstHlth PreHlth APPROVE....... VtPoll VtPoll High Low Jan 18 Nov 17 Sep 09 Mar 25 Mar 25 Mar 25 Oct 08 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 Approve 30 27 29 34 31 34 25 Disapprove 57 63 59 58 60 58 64 DK/NA 13 10 12 8 9 8 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 2 - 3 2 2 2 1 5 4 Smwht satisfied 25 11 41 20 25 25 22 41 31 Smwht dissatisfied 38 42 38 39 36 40 38 38 39 Very dissatisfied 34 44 16 39 36 31 38 16 19 DK/NA 1 2 2 - 1 1 1 - 7 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Very satisfied 3 1 2 3 1 - 2 1 3 Smwht satisfied 38 18 23 26 24 28 32 30 15 Smwht dissatisfied 35 44 34 32 45 41 46 39 32 Very dissatisfied 23 37 40 37 30 31 20 28 49 DK/NA 1 - 2 2 - - - 1 1 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Very satisfied 2 1 1 1 1 Smwht satisfied 23 31 18 19 26 Smwht dissatisfied 38 39 31 35 39 Very dissatisfied 36 29 50 44 33 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 Jan 18 Nov 17 Sep 09 Jul 21 May 26 Dec 11 Nov 13 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2001 2008 Very satisfied 2 3 2 3 3 21 2 Smwht satisfied 25 24 23 24 26 47 14 Smwht dissatisfied 38 29 31 29 31 19 38 Very dissatisfied 34 42 42 42 39 10 44 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 8. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling -- the economy? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 40 10 70 33 37 44 33 76 51 Disapprove 53 85 22 60 56 50 60 19 39 DK/NA 7 5 8 7 7 7 7 4 10 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling the economy? (*Low also 39% Jul 2010, Sep 2010) APPROVE...... High Low Jan 18 Nov 17 Sep 09 Jul 21 May 26 Mar 04 Nov 17* 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 Approve 40 39 39 39 44 57 39 Disapprove 53 57 56 56 50 33 57 DK/NA 7 4 5 5 6 10 4 10. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling -- health care? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 44 9 79 35 41 46 36 84 64 Disapprove 51 88 15 60 54 49 60 13 25 DK/NA 5 4 6 4 4 5 5 3 11 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling health care? (*Low also 35% Jan 2010) PostVt PreVt APPROVE....... Poll Poll High Low Jan 18 May 26 Apr 21 Mar 25 Mar 25 July 02 Feb 11* 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 Approve 44 44 40 44 36 46 35 Disapprove 51 51 55 50 58 42 58 DK/NA 5 6 5 6 6 13 6 11. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling -- the situation in Afghanistan? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 46 38 54 44 46 46 42 68 46 Disapprove 40 44 34 42 44 36 42 19 47 DK/NA 14 18 12 14 10 18 15 12 7 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling the situation in Afghanistan? APPROVE....... High Low Jan 18 Sep 09 Jul 21 May 26 Apr 22 Mar 25 Nov 18 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 Approve 46 49 43 45 49 52 38 Disapprove 40 40 46 40 39 36 49 DK/NA 14 10 11 14 12 12 12 12. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling -- creating jobs? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 41 13 70 35 38 45 33 79 58 Disapprove 51 82 22 56 55 47 59 15 32 DK/NA 8 4 8 9 7 8 7 6 10 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling creating jobs? Jan 18 May 26 Apr 21 Mar 25 Feb 11 Jan 13 Dec 22 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 Approve 41 40 38 37 37 34 37 Disapprove 51 51 56 57 56 59 56 DK/NA 8 9 6 6 7 7 8 14. Do you approve or disapprove of the way President Obama is handling -- taxes? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 41 21 65 34 38 43 36 67 47 Disapprove 50 71 27 57 53 47 56 24 34 DK/NA 10 9 9 9 9 10 9 9 19 15. Do you approve or disapprove of the way President Obama is handling -- the issue of gays in the military? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 54 31 71 54 49 58 50 64 73 Disapprove 32 50 17 32 39 25 35 22 14 DK/NA 14 18 12 14 11 17 15 15 12 25. Would you describe the state of the nation's economy these days as - excellent, good, not so good, or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Excellent 1 - 2 - 1 1 - 6 2 Good 13 7 24 8 11 15 10 27 26 Not so good 43 33 51 41 44 41 41 48 51 Poor 43 60 22 49 43 42 48 16 21 DK/NA - - - 1 1 - - 2 - AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Excellent 2 1 1 2 - - - 1 2 Good 16 13 12 14 11 18 16 14 9 Not so good 44 40 44 39 52 42 51 47 33 Poor 38 46 42 44 37 40 32 37 56 DK/NA 1 - 1 1 - - 1 - - TREND: Would you describe the state of the nation's economy these days as excellent, good, not so good, or poor? EXLNT+GOOD.... High Low Jan 18 Nov 17 Sep 09 Jul 22 May 26 Dec 10 Mar 04 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2003 2009 Excellent 1 - - 1 - 3 - Good 13 7 9 9 12 37 3 Not so good 43 43 41 43 46 42 28 Poor 43 49 49 47 40 16 68 DK/NA - 1 1 1 1 1 - 26. Do you think the nation's economy is getting better, getting worse, or staying about the same? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Better 36 20 54 33 36 36 33 49 46 Worse 20 29 9 21 21 18 21 13 18 The same 43 51 36 44 41 44 45 37 35 DK/NA 2 - 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Better 40 33 35 32 39 45 55 39 22 Worse 19 20 19 24 13 15 9 17 29 The same 37 46 44 42 47 39 34 44 48 DK/NA 4 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 TREND: Do you think the nation's economy is getting better, getting worse, or staying about the same? Jan 18 Nov 17 Sep 09 Jul 22 May 26 Dec 22 Aug 06 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2009 Better 36 28 22 23 32 28 28 Worse 20 28 32 31 24 28 29 The same 43 43 45 44 43 43 41 DK/NA 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 27. Who do you trust to do a better job handling the economy - President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Obama 46 6 86 37 43 49 37 89 69 Republicans 39 83 6 41 43 36 48 4 14 DK/NA 14 11 8 23 14 15 16 7 17 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Obama 53 42 45 50 45 44 82 49 21 Republicans 33 44 40 35 40 48 8 36 65 DK/NA 13 14 15 15 15 8 10 14 14 TREND: Who do you trust to do a better job handling the economy - President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Jan 18 Nov 17 Jul 22 May 26 Dec 22 Aug 06 July 02 2011 2010 2010 2010 2009 2009 2009 President Obama 46 42 41 45 45 47 54 Reps in Congress 39 45 42 36 36 36 32 DK/NA 14 14 17 19 19 17 14 28. Do you think President Obama's policies have helped the economy, hurt the economy, or haven't made a difference? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Helped 38 7 70 32 37 40 30 73 60 Hurt 28 58 3 29 32 25 34 2 13 No difference 31 33 25 37 30 32 33 22 27 DK/NA 2 2 3 2 1 3 2 2 - AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Helped 42 36 38 39 39 39 65 41 18 Hurt 23 30 30 23 29 38 4 23 51 No difference 34 33 28 36 30 22 28 34 29 DK/NA - 2 4 2 2 1 3 2 2 TREND: Do you think President Obama's policies have helped the economy, hurt the economy, or haven't made a difference? Jan 18 Jul 22 May 26 Dec 22 Aug 06 2011 2010 2010 2009 2009 Helped 38 33 39 37 37 Hurt 28 34 29 28 29 No difference 31 31 28 31 31 DK/NA 2 3 4 4 4 29. Looking forward, do you think President Obama's policies will help the economy, will hurt the economy, or won't make a difference? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Will Help 46 13 80 36 41 50 37 85 59 Will Hurt 28 53 3 31 30 25 33 2 13 No difference 23 30 14 28 25 20 26 12 21 DK/NA 4 4 2 5 3 5 4 1 7 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Will Help 53 43 44 49 45 45 72 51 24 Will Hurt 25 31 25 23 30 33 7 23 48 No difference 19 23 26 24 23 18 18 22 24 DK/NA 3 3 5 3 3 4 3 3 4 TREND: Looking forward, do you think President Obama's policies will help the economy, will hurt the economy, or won't make a difference? Jan 18 Jul 22 May 26 Dec 22 Aug 06 2011 2010 2010 2009 2009 Will help 46 41 45 49 49 Will hurt 28 36 32 29 33 No difference 23 19 18 17 14 DK/NA 4 4 5 5 4 30. Do you think President Obama's policies have helped your personal financial situation, hurt your personal financial situation, or haven't made a difference? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Helped 19 6 34 13 17 21 14 40 34 Hurt 29 53 7 32 32 27 35 5 8 No difference 51 41 57 53 51 51 50 53 57 DK/NA 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 3 - AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Helped 27 17 15 23 16 17 34 20 10 Hurt 22 33 32 27 26 33 8 26 46 No difference 51 49 52 49 58 50 58 53 43 DK/NA 1 1 1 2 - - 1 1 1 TREND: Do you think President Obama's policies have helped your personal financial situation, hurt your personal financial situation, or haven't made a difference? Jan 18 Jul 22 May 26 Dec 22 Aug 06 2011 2010 2010 2009 2009 Helped 19 14 16 15 13 Hurt 29 30 29 26 23 No difference 51 54 54 58 63 DK/NA 1 1 2 1 1 31. Looking forward, do you think President Obama's policies will help your personal financial situation, will hurt your personal financial situation, or won't make a difference? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Will Help 29 7 53 22 27 31 23 51 53 Will Hurt 32 55 7 38 34 31 38 9 15 No difference 36 35 36 37 37 35 36 35 32 DK/NA 3 3 4 3 2 4 3 5 - AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Will Help 38 28 24 32 29 25 49 30 16 Will Hurt 22 39 31 27 34 39 10 26 53 No difference 39 30 40 38 36 35 38 41 28 DK/NA 1 3 5 3 2 2 3 2 3 TREND: Looking forward, do you think President Obama's policies will help your personal financial situation, will hurt your personal financial situation, or won't make a difference? Jan 18 Jul 22 May 26 Dec 22 Aug 06 2011 2010 2010 2009 2009 Will help 29 26 28 31 33 Will hurt 32 36 36 37 36 No difference 36 35 32 30 28 DK/NA 3 3 4 2 3 32. Do you think the United States economy is in a recession now? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Yes 73 77 68 75 70 76 75 70 61 No 24 19 28 23 28 20 23 26 31 DK/NA 3 3 4 2 2 4 2 4 8 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Yes 68 74 75 76 72 67 72 70 78 No 29 23 22 20 27 32 26 27 19 DK/NA 3 3 3 4 1 2 2 3 3 TREND: Do you think the United States economy is in a recession now? Jan 18 Jul 22 May 26 May 15 2011 2010 2010 2008 Yes 73 79 74 71 No 24 18 21 24 DK/NA 3 3 5 5 33. Do you think the economy is beginning to recover or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Yes 54 38 74 48 54 53 52 69 64 No 43 57 23 49 43 42 45 26 36 DK/NA 3 4 3 3 2 4 3 4 - AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Yes 58 52 55 49 58 66 70 57 42 No 41 45 40 48 38 33 27 40 54 DK/NA 1 3 5 3 4 2 3 3 4 TREND: Do you think the economy is beginning to recover or not? Jan 18 Jul 22 2011 2010 Yes 54 44 No 43 52 DK/NA 3 5 34. What do you think is more important, reducing the federal budget deficit or reducing unemployment? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Budget deficit 31 39 21 34 36 26 32 23 33 Unemployment 63 57 76 59 58 68 63 73 61 DK/NA 6 4 3 7 5 6 6 5 6 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Budget deficit 34 31 29 28 33 33 20 25 45 Unemployment 62 67 61 66 65 64 76 72 47 DK/NA 5 2 10 6 2 4 4 3 8 TREND: What do you think is more important - reducing the federal budget deficit or reducing unemployment? Jan 18 Jul 22 Feb 11 2011 2010 2010 Reducing deficit 31 30 23 Reducing unemploy 63 64 71 DK/NA 6 6 6 35. Who do you blame more for the current condition of the U.S. economy - former President George W. Bush or President Barack Obama? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Bush 57 21 91 55 53 61 52 85 73 Obama 21 49 3 18 23 19 25 4 9 NEITHER (VOL) 11 18 3 14 13 9 12 5 5 BOTH (VOL) 7 7 1 10 8 6 8 2 6 DK/NA 4 5 2 3 3 4 3 4 8 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Bush 62 58 53 63 54 54 89 64 30 Obama 14 22 25 17 23 24 4 15 40 NEITHER (VOL) 15 11 9 10 11 15 5 10 16 BOTH (VOL) 7 7 7 6 9 6 1 7 10 DK/NA 2 2 5 4 2 2 - 4 4 TREND: Who do you blame more for the current condition of the U.S. economy - Former President George W. Bush or President Barack Obama? Jan 18 Jul 22 Jan 13 2011 2010 2010 Bush 57 53 55 Obama 21 25 20 NEITHER(VOL) 11 10 14 BOTH(VOL) 7 7 7 DK/NA 4 4 4 36. Do you think that the policies of President Barack Obama make the United States a safer place than the policies of former President George W. Bush, less safe, or about as safe as the policies of former President Bush? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Safer 26 4 50 18 23 30 21 48 38 Less Safe 25 51 2 28 31 20 30 4 14 About the same 44 39 44 50 43 45 45 43 43 DK/NA 4 6 3 4 3 5 3 5 6 TREND: Do you think that the policies of President Barack Obama make the United States a safer place than the policies of former President George W. Bush, less safe, or about as safe as the policies of former President Bush? Jan 18 Jan 13 2011 2010 Safer 26 24 About the same 25 38 Less safe 44 35 DK/NA 4 3 37. Do you think Congress should try to repeal the new health care law, or should they let it stand? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Should repeal it 48 83 16 54 53 44 56 15 28 Should let it stand 43 12 76 37 40 46 37 75 51 DK/NA 8 5 9 9 7 10 7 10 21 40. Do you think the U.S. is doing the right thing by fighting the war in Afghanistan now, or should the U.S. not be involved in Afghanistan now? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Right thing 41 52 31 43 45 37 44 38 29 Shld'nt be involved 51 40 61 50 49 53 48 56 67 DK/NA 8 8 8 7 6 10 8 6 4 TREND: Do you think the U.S. is doing the right thing by fighting the war in Afghanistan now, or should the U.S. not be involved in Afghanistan now? RIGHT THING... High Low Jan 18 Nov 18 Sep 09 Jul 21 May 26 Jan 14 Jan 18 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2011 Right thing 41 44 49 48 49 59 41 Shouldn't be inv 51 50 41 43 42 35 51 DK/NA 8 6 10 9 9 6 8
