National (US) Poll * December 23, 2009 * U.S. Voters Believe In Global - Quinnipiac University

Home> Institutes and Centers> Quinnipiac University Polling Institute> National (US)> Release Detail

December 23, 2009 - U.S. Voters Believe In Global Warming, Mixed On Treaty, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Obama Under 50% As Support For Afghan War Drops

Word format American voters believe 59 - 34 percent that the earth is getting warmer, but most voters say the U.S. should not sign a treaty promising to reduce greenhouse gases, or should not sign such a treaty unless other nations do the same, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Among voters who believe in global warming, 57 percent believe it is caused by human activity.
American voters approve 46 - 43 percent of President Barack Obama's overall job performance, virtually unchanged from a 46 - 44 percent approval in a December 9 poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. Handling issues, President Obama gets:
A split 40 - 40 percent approval on his handling of global warming; A near split 46 - 44 percent for handling foreign policy; A narrow 47 - 43 percent approval for his handling of the war in Afghanistan.
The U.S. should sign a treaty to reduce greenhouse gases only if other nations make the same commitment, 30 percent of voters say, while 33 percent say the U.S. should sign such a treaty even if other nations don't match America's commitment. Another 28 percent say the U.S. should not sign such a treaty, no matter what other nations do.
The Obama Administration is "going too far in protecting the environment at the expense of American jobs," 38 percent of voters say, while 36 percent say the administration is striking the right balance between jobs and the environment and 8 percent say it is too focused on protecting jobs, at the expense of the environment.
"President Barack Obama's job approval remains below 50 percent, but for now has stabilized," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "The President continues to have sizable gender, racial and age gaps in his support, and smaller income gaps."
Men disapprove of him 49 - 42 percent; women approve 50 - 38 percent. Whites disapprove 50 - 38 percent; blacks approve 91 - 5 percent. Voters 18 to 34 years old approve 53 - 35 percent while older voters disapprove 46 - 44 percent. Approval by income group ranges from 47 - 40 percent among those making less than $50,000 per year to 46 - 44 percent among those making $50,000 to $100,000 to a negative 45 - 48 percent among those making more than $100,000.
Obama's job approval had been on an incremental decline since the summer and dropped under 50 percent for the first time last month. He retains the confidence of Democrats, 80 - 12 percent, but gets a 79 - 13 percent disapproval from Republicans and a 46 - 41 percent thumbs down from independent voters.
Meanwhile, the lead that Democrats in Congress held over Republicans in how the two parties are judged in their job performance has significantly narrowed from earlier this year. Now voters disapprove of the Republicans 62 - 29 percent, and the Democrats 59 - 32 percent.
"Roughly twice as many Americans disapprove as approve of the job performance of lawmakers of both parties. Since March, the Democrats have lost 13 points in their approval rating," Brown said. "For the most part, it's not that Republicans in Congress have improved that much, since GOP remains a four-letter word in much of America. It's more that the Democrats have sunk to the Republican level in the eyes of voters."
American voters say 51 - 41 percent that the U.S. is doing the right thing fighting in Afghanistan, down from 57 - 35 percent December 8, in the wake of Obama's West Point announcement that he was sending 30,000 more troops to fight there.
Republican support, 68 - 27 percent, is little changed in two weeks. Democrats went from a 47 - 46 percent split December 8 to 52 - 39 percent opposed today. Independent support has dropped from 58 - 34 percent to 51 - 40 percent.
From December 15 - 20, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,616 registered voters nationwide with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 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 Approve 46% 13% 80% 41% 42% 50% 38% 91% Disapprove 43 79 12 46 49 38 50 5 DK/NA 11 8 8 13 9 12 11 4 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 53% 44% 44% 47% 46% 45% 72% 55% 24% Disapprove 35 46 46 40 44 48 17 33 68 DK/NA 12 10 10 13 10 7 11 12 8 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Mltry JobLoss Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath HsHlds HsHldsQ18 Approve 46% 47% 21% 31% 39% 39% 44% Disapprove 44 42 68 60 51 53 46 DK/NA 11 11 11 10 11 8 11
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? (High also 59% Mar 2009 / *Low also 46% Dec 9 2009)
APPROVE....... High Low Dec 23 Dec 9 Nov 18 Oct 8 Aug 6 Jun 4 Dec 23 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009* 2009** Approve 46 46 48 50 50 59 46 Disapprove 43 44 42 41 42 31 43 DK/NA 11 10 10 9 9 10 11 INDEPENDENTS......................................... APPROVE...... High Low Dec 23 Dec 9 Nov 18 Oct 8 Aug 6 Jun 4 Dec 9 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 Approve 41 37 43 45 45 57 37 Disapprove 46 51 46 44 45 30 51 DK/NA 13 11 11 11 10 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 Approve 32% 12% 61% 20% 26% 37% 26% 60% Disapprove 59 86 28 69 67 51 65 31 DK/NA 9 3 11 11 6 12 9 9 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 43% 27% 29% 35% 27% 35% 52% 35% 18% Disapprove 47 65 60 54 63 62 38 55 76 DK/NA 10 8 11 11 10 3 10 10 6 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Mltry JobLoss Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath HsHlds HsHldsQ18 Approve 32% 31% 20% 20% 25% 24% 28% Disapprove 57 62 72 72 67 68 61 DK/NA 10 7 8 7 8 8 11
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Democrats in Congress are handling their job?
APPROVE...... High Low Dec 23 Dec 9 Nov 19 Oct 8 Aug 6 Mar 4 Dec 23 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 Approve 32 33 36 33 35 45 32 Disapprove 59 56 55 56 55 45 59 DK/NA 9 11 9 11 10 10 9
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 Approve 29% 56% 17% 22% 29% 28% 29% 19% Disapprove 62 37 76 67 65 59 61 71 DK/NA 9 7 8 11 5 13 9 9 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 35% 27% 26% 30% 28% 25% 16% 25% 40% Disapprove 53 66 65 59 66 69 77 65 52 DK/NA 12 8 9 11 6 6 8 10 7 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Mltry JobLoss Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath HsHlds HsHldsQ18 Approve 31% 22% 38% 31% 32% 29% 29% Disapprove 58 73 52 59 60 62 60 DK/NA 11 6 9 10 8 8 10
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling their job?
APPROVE...... High Low Dec 23 Dec 9 Nov 19 Oct 8 Aug 6 Nov 19 Oct 8 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 Approve 29 30 31 25 29 31 25 Disapprove 62 58 58 64 59 58 64 DK/NA 9 12 11 11 12 11 11
6. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - foreign policy?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 46% 23% 70% 43% 43% 49% 43% 70% Disapprove 44 68 19 48 50 38 48 15 DK/NA 10 9 11 9 7 12 9 15 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 54% 44% 44% 44% 51% 48% 70% 58% 24% Disapprove 37 47 44 42 44 48 26 31 65 DK/NA 9 9 12 14 5 4 5 11 11 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Mltry JobLoss Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath HsHlds HsHldsQ18 Approve 43% 55% 26% 34% 48% 38% 44% Disapprove 45 40 63 55 44 51 48 DK/NA 12 5 10 11 8 10 8
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - foreign policy? (*Low also 46% Dec 9 2009)
APPROVE....... High Low Dec 23 Dec 8 Nov 18 Oct 7 Aug 6 Apr 29 Dec 23 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009* Approve 46 46 49 49 52 57 46 Disapprove 44 45 42 37 38 32 44 DK/NA 10 9 8 13 10 11 10
8. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - the situation in Afghanistan?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 47% 41% 55% 44% 51% 44% 46% 67% Disapprove 43 50 37 45 42 45 44 21 DK/NA 10 8 9 10 7 12 10 12 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 44% 50% 47% 41% 54% 56% 47% 54% 42% Disapprove 49 42 40 46 40 40 46 38 48 DK/NA 8 8 13 13 6 4 7 8 11 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Mltry JobLoss Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath HsHlds HsHldsQ18 Approve 45% 52% 39% 44% 46% 43% 38% Disapprove 44 42 50 46 47 47 52 DK/NA 11 6 11 11 7 9 10
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - the situation in Afghanistan?
Dec 23 Dec 8 Nov 18 Oct 7 2009 2009 2009 2009 Approve 47 45 38 42 Disapprove 43 45 49 40 DK/NA 10 11 12 17
9. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - global warming?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 40% 16% 64% 37% 36% 44% 37% 62% Disapprove 40 65 16 44 51 30 45 16 DK/NA 20 19 20 19 13 26 19 22 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 44% 38% 40% 42% 37% 41% 62% 50% 21% Disapprove 32 43 41 35 46 45 19 27 63 DK/NA 24 19 19 23 17 14 19 22 16 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Mltry JobLoss Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath HsHlds HsHldsQ18 Approve 38% 45% 22% 28% 41% 34% 34% Disapprove 40 40 57 53 40 48 43 DK/NA 22 15 22 19 19 18 23
28. 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 Right thing 51% 68% 39% 51% 62% 41% 57% 34% Shldn't be involved 41 27 52 40 33 48 36 55 DK/NA 8 5 9 9 5 10 7 11 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Right thing 39% 57% 52% 44% 58% 64% 39% 54% 56% Shldn't be involved 53 36 38 49 33 31 52 40 36 DK/NA 8 6 10 7 10 5 9 6 8 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Mltry JobLoss Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath HsHlds HsHldsQ18 Right thing 46% 63% 55% 57% 61% 56% 47% Shldn't be involved 44 32 36 33 34 36 46 DK/NA 9 4 8 9 6 8 7
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?
Dec 23 Dec 8 Nov 18 Oct 7 2009 2009 2009 2009 Right thing 51 57 48 52 Shouldn't be inv 41 35 41 37 DK/NA 8 8 11 11
29. How concerned are you about global warming or climate change - very concerned, somewhat concerned, not too concerned, or not concerned at all?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Very concerned 29% 13% 45% 27% 24% 35% 25% 46% Smwht concerned 30 26 34 30 28 31 30 31 Not too concerned 17 19 15 19 15 18 18 14 Not concerned 23 41 6 23 32 15 27 9 DK/NA 1 1 - 1 1 2 1 - AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Very concerned 38% 28% 25% 32% 26% 27% 51% 31% 16% Smwht concerned 31 30 28 27 32 32 33 38 22 Not too concerned 14 17 19 17 16 16 10 17 19 Not concerned 17 25 25 22 25 25 5 12 42 DK/NA - 1 2 2 1 - - 1 1 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Mltry JobLoss Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath HsHlds HsHldsQ18 Very concerned 28% 34% 13% 18% 24% 26% 33% Smwht concerned 30 30 26 28 35 22 26 Not too concerned 18 13 23 20 15 20 17 Not concerned 23 22 37 32 26 31 24 DK/NA 1 - 1 2 - - -
30. Do you believe that the earth is getting warmer or not?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 59% 41% 75% 57% 54% 63% 56% 70% No 34 52 17 37 40 30 37 22 DK/NA 7 7 7 6 6 8 7 8 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Yes 68% 57% 54% 59% 60% 61% 85% 69% 37% No 28 38 35 33 36 36 11 27 54 DK/NA 5 5 10 8 3 3 4 4 9 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Mltry JobLoss Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath HsHlds HsHldsQ18 Yes 56% 66% 47% 52% 52% 52% 59% No 36 30 46 42 40 41 35 DK/NA 8 4 7 6 8 8 6
31. (If yes q30) Do you believe that the earth is getting warmer - mostly because of human activity such as burning fossil fuels, or mostly because of natural patterns in the earth's environment?
BELIEVE EARTH IS GETTING WARMER Q30........................ Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Human activity 57% 32% 69% 56% 53% 60% 58% 42% Natural patterns 33 55 25 32 38 30 33 46 DK/NA 10 13 6 12 9 10 10 11 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Human activity 67% 51% 55% 54% 57% 66% 79% 56% 34% Natural patterns 28 39 32 38 30 26 15 32 56 DK/NA 5 10 13 8 13 9 6 11 9 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Mltry JobLoss Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath HsHlds HsHldsQ18 Human activity 51% 70% 41% 50% 65% 56% 56% Natural patterns 39 20 51 38 28 34 38 DK/NA 9 10 8 12 7 10 6
32. As you may know, representatives of governments from all over the world have been meeting in Denmark to seek agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Do you think the U.S. should sign a treaty to reduce greenhouse gases; A) only if other major countries, such as India and China, agree to make similar economic sacrifices or B) should the U.S. sign a treaty even if these other countries do less or C) should the U.S. not sign a treaty to reduce greenhouse gases, no matter what other countries do?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk A)If others do same 30% 32% 30% 32% 34% 27% 31% 30% B)If others do less 33 17 47 33 26 38 31 35 C)Shld not sign 28 42 14 29 36 21 30 21 DK/NA 9 10 10 6 4 13 8 14 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con A)If others do same 26% 30% 35% 32% 28% 33% 30% 35% 27% B)If others do less 48 30 25 32 38 33 56 37 18 C)Shld not sign 21 33 28 25 30 29 8 21 46 DK/NA 5 7 13 10 4 6 6 7 9 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Mltry JobLoss Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath HsHlds HsHldsQ18 A)If others do same 29% 33% 31% 33% 34% 23% 27% B)If others do less 31 38 21 22 33 34 36 C)Shld not sign 29 25 37 34 29 35 29 DK/NA 11 4 12 11 3 8 8
33. Which comes closer to your point of view about the Obama Administration; A) It is striking the right balance between helping reduce greenhouse gases and protecting American jobs, B) It is going too far in protecting the environment at the expense of American jobs or C) It is going too far protecting American jobs at the expense of the environment?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk A)Right balance 36% 14% 58% 32% 35% 37% 33% 48% B)Too far on env 38 59 18 39 45 31 40 26 C)Too far on jobs 8 8 8 10 8 8 9 8 DK/NA 18 19 16 19 12 23 17 18 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con A)Right balance 45% 34% 33% 34% 40% 42% 64% 42% 17% B)Too far on env 31 42 37 37 38 37 15 28 60 C)Too far on jobs 9 7 8 10 5 9 4 10 9 DK/NA 15 17 21 19 17 12 18 20 14 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Mltry JobLoss Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath HsHlds HsHldsQ18 A)Right balance 33% 45% 23% 28% 33% 31% 32% B)Too far on env 40 32 53 47 37 42 41 C)Too far on jobs 9 7 9 7 15 10 9 DK/NA 19 16 15 18 15 17 18