Polls

Approval of Obama remains consistent, Americans blame Congress

| Tom Jensen


Header-poll-results
Raleigh, N.C. –
While Congress is
dealing with historically low approval ratings, American’s opinion of President
Obama has remained consistent. Our latest poll shows the President’s approval
at 45/52 – almost identical to his 45/51 numbers before the shutdown in our
last national poll.

Much of President Obama’s sustained support comes from the  fact that Americans are blaming Congress for
the shutdown instead of the President. 53% of registered voters blame Congress,
while only 43% blame Obama. Partisan lines remain strong, 72% of those who
identify as Republican blame Obama compared to only 16% of Democrats.

Independents are much more representative of the nation as a whole in who
they hold responsible for the shutdown – specifically, Republicans.
Independents blamed Congress over Obama at 57/41, and blame the Republican
Party over the Democratic Party 51/37.

Registered voters approve of Congressional Democrats at 39/56 (almost
identical to their numbers of 39/57 before the shutdown), 10 points higher than
Republicans, at 29/65. This could have real effects for Republicans at the
ballot box. We polled voters whether they would vote for a Democrat or
Republican if a U.S. House vote were held today, and 46% choose Democrats over
41% for Republicans.

“Democrats continue to have the edge when it comes to who voters plan to
support for Congress next year,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy
Polling. “They’re unhappy with everyone but they’re a lot more unhappy with the
Republicans.”

We asked voters whether they viewed ‘Obamacare’ or the Affordable Care Act
(ACA) more favorably. Proving how partisan the issue has become, 38% of
Democrats and 28% of Republicans viewed Obamacare and the ACA differently – and
of course they are the same exact law. Independents were less likely to make
this mistake, as only 14% saw a difference. 75% of Independents correctly
“viewed them both equally” while only 52% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans
saw them as the same.

PPP surveyed 1000
voters between October 4-6, 2013. The margin of error for the overall survey is
+/- 3.1%. This poll was not authorized or paid for by any campaign or political
organization. PPP’s surveys are conducted through automated telephone
interviews.

Topline results are below.  Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.

Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of President
Barack Obama’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 45%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 52%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 3%

Q2 Do you approve or disapprove of the job
Congressional Democrats are doing?
Approve …………………………………………………. 39%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 56%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 5%

Q3 Do you approve or disapprove of the job
Congressional Republicans are doing?
Approve …………………………………………………. 29%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 65%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 6%

Q4 If there was an election for the U.S. House
today, would you vote for the Democratic or
Republican candidate from your district?
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 46%
Republican……………………………………………… 41%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%

Q5 Who do you think is more responsible for the
government shutdown: the Democratic Party or
the Republican Party?
Democratic Party …………………………………….. 42%
Republican Party …………………………………….. 48%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%

Q6 Who do you think is more responsible for the
government shutdown: President Obama or
Congress?
President Obama…………………………………….. 43%
Congress ……………………………………………….. 53%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 4%

Q7 Do you have a more favorable opinion of
Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act, or do
you see them both equally?
Obamacare…………………………………………….. 14%
ACA ………………………………………………………. 13%
See them both equally ……………………………… 62%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 11%

Q8 Who would you rather have as Speaker of the
House: John Boehner or Ted Cruz?
John Boehner …………………………………………. 33%
Ted Cruz ………………………………………………… 30%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 37%

Q9 Do you think members of Congress should
continue to receive their salary during the
government shutdown, or not?
Think they should…………………………………….. 8%
Think they should not……………………………….. 89%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 3%

Q10 In the last presidential election, did you vote for
Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
Barack Obama………………………………………… 46%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 45%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 9%

Q11 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 11%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 16%
Moderate………………………………………………… 35%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 24%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 15%

Q12 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 52%
Man……………………………………………………….. 48%

Q13 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 35%
Republican……………………………………………… 34%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 32%

Q14 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African-American, press 3. If other, press 4.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 11%
White …………………………………………………….. 71%
African-American …………………………………….. 11%
Other……………………………………………………… 7%

Q15 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 15%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 22%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 43%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%

Related Polls