Obama ratings sky-high as voters seek hope

President-elect Obama will enter the White House with sky-high
approval ratings and hopes of a dour, but optimistic, electorate on his
shoulders, according to a new poll.

The Hart/McInturff poll, conducted by Democratic pollster Peter
Hart and Republican pollster Bill McInturff, shows two in three voters have
positive views of the incoming president, and 45 percent feel very positively
about Obama. That is higher than at any point before, and about 10 points
higher than the previous high, recorded just before the election.

{mosads}Just 16 percent have negative feelings toward Obama. The poll
was conducted among 1,009 adults between Dec. 5-8 for a margin of error of plus
or minus 3.1 percent.

The scores, released in the poll taken for NBC News and The Wall Street Journal, should
allow Obama’s presidency “a longer time to be able to prove itself,” Hart said
at a breakfast hosted by The Christian
Science Monitor.

Obama will begin his presidency with an electorate that sees an
economy in turmoil. Fully 90 percent of voters say the economy has gotten worse
in the past year, and just 36 percent say they think it will get better in the
coming 12 months. 

But it is also an electorate eager to change what has become the
fundamental core of Washington over the past several decades. A majority, 52
percent, said they expect the next four years will bring a period of unity
through consensus, while 42 percent say they see an impending period of
division. That is much better than the way the electorate felt in 2004, when
just 27 percent expected unity and 65 percent foresaw division.

“This is a country that is desperately trying to come together and
is looking for a unity of purpose and a unity of direction,” Hart said.

He added that Obama should use his political capital early, and on
economic issues, which remain atop voters’ minds. Obama can leverage his
massive e-mail list, Hart said, to lobby wavering members of Congress.

Though pollsters and pundits debate the effect of Obama’s
coattails during the 2008 elections, the incoming president’s favorable ratings
seem to have a positive effect on those with whom he associates. Secretary of
State-designate Hillary Clinton has seen her approval ratings jump to
near-record levels, and former President Bill Clinton also received a bump.

Even congressional approval ratings have jumped, though they
remain very low. About one in five voters approve of the job Congress is doing,
up from just 12 percent two weeks before the election.

But while most approval ratings have gone up, those not associated
with Obama continue to suffer. Voters see the Democratic Party in a
historically good light, with 49 percent feeling positively about the party and
just 28 percent seeing the new governing party in a negative light. That is
almost as high as the previous record, set back in 2000. Conversely, fewer
voters — 27 percent — see the Republican Party in a positive light than ever
before, while 52 percent, another record, see the GOP negatively.

“We’ve never seen a greater disparity between where the
Republicans stand and where the Democrats stand,” added Hart. “Certainly
[Obama] has helped the Democratic brand and Bush has hurt the Republican
brand.”