Americans Have Very Different Reasons for Liking . . . and Disliking President Obama.

Almost Half Believe Health Care Most Important Issue for Government to Address

NEW YORK -- President Obama's overall job approval has been steadily declining for the past few months and when asked why people either like or dislike the job he is doing, the top response for both has to do with change. Some feel that he is trying to do too much and not succeeding. Still others believe that his efforts to bring about change are a positive. If we look at today's top issues, President Obama is seen as not succeeding on many of them at the moment, especially the economy. If he can edge out a win -- whether it is related to health care or some great economic news that hits Americans positively in their wallets or saves some jobs -- it may confirm for people that he can succeed.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll([R]) of 2,303 adults surveyed online between November 2 and 11, 2009 by Harris Interactive([R]).

Why people like the job President Obama is doing

Right now, more than two in five Americans (43%) give President Obama positive job approval ratings. When these people are asked why they think some people like the job President Obama is doing, the highest response, given by 13% of Americans, is that he is trying to bring about much needed change. One in ten U.S. adults (9%) believe people like the job the president is doing because he is working for the people's best interests and doing the right thing. Further down the list as reasons are that he seems to care about everyone, or the common man (7%) and the same number say people like President Obama because he is not George W. Bush. In fact, 5% each say people like the job the president is doing because the country needs a fresh outlook with new ideas and that he is trying to fix the mess President Bush made.

Why people do not like the job President Obama is doing

On the flip side, over half of Americans (57%) give President Obama negative job approval ratings. Just over one in ten of these people each say that one reason some people do not like the job the president is doing is because he is spending too much, creating too much debt and bankrupting the country (11%) and he's not effective and hasn't done much yet (11%). Just under one in ten (8%) believe the reason people do not like the president is because he has not lived up to his campaign promises and 5% say it is because of his lack of experience. Interestingly, 4% say change is not occurring fast enough and the same number say people don't like the President because he is changing things too fast.

The Most Important Issue for Government to Address

Currently, just under half of Americans (47%) believe that one of the two most important issues for the government to address is health care, down from the high of 55% who believed this in September. One-third (34%) say the economy while one-quarter (24%) believe that jobs is one of the most important issues. One in ten Americans say government spending (11%) and the war (9%) which could mean either Afghanistan or Iraq.

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Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States November 2 and 11, 2009 among 2,303 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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The Harris Poll([R]) #135, November 24, 2009 By Regina A. Corso, Director, The Harris Poll

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.