Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/pew-poll-obama-ratings-are-flat-while-incumbents-face-difficult-2010 Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pew Poll: Obama's Ratings Flat as Incumbents Face Difficult 2010 Politics Feb 12, 2010 11:00 AM EST A new Pew Center for People and the Press poll released Friday shows that President Barack Obama's favorability rating has held steady at 49 percent for the past few months and that members of Congress running for re-election face the most hostile environment ever recorded in the poll's 16-year history. Three in 10 voters, the Pew report says, don't want their own representative re-elected -- the highest recorded in Pew's surveys. Forty-nine percent said they would like to see their member of Congress re-elected. Pew compares this anti-incumbent climate to two other midterm elections: 1994 and 2006, when control of the House of Representatives switched from the president's party to the opposition. In 2010, President Obama is viewed more favorably than both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were during their respective presidencies in 2006 and 1994. But voters are uneasy about the effectiveness of President Obama's economic polices - 27 percent say he has made things better and 24 percent say he has made the economy worse. Further complicating the picture is that neither the Democratic nor the Republican parties are viewed favorably, but views on the GOP have improved in recent months. Sixty percent said the GOP has done a poor job offering solutions, while 52 percent said the same about the Democrats. Health care reform legislation, President Obama's signature initiative, isn't wildly popular, but it is more popular than Congress doing nothing on the issue. While 50 percent in the Pew poll said they "generally oppose" the health care bills before Congress, 61 percent said they would rather Congress pass the current bills or keep working on those bills, while just 26 percent wants Congress to leave the current system in place. The poll was conducted from Feb. 3-9 among 1,383 adults on landlines and cell phones. The results will be discussed on Friday's NewsHour. Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Center, will join us in our studio to discuss their findings. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now
A new Pew Center for People and the Press poll released Friday shows that President Barack Obama's favorability rating has held steady at 49 percent for the past few months and that members of Congress running for re-election face the most hostile environment ever recorded in the poll's 16-year history. Three in 10 voters, the Pew report says, don't want their own representative re-elected -- the highest recorded in Pew's surveys. Forty-nine percent said they would like to see their member of Congress re-elected. Pew compares this anti-incumbent climate to two other midterm elections: 1994 and 2006, when control of the House of Representatives switched from the president's party to the opposition. In 2010, President Obama is viewed more favorably than both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were during their respective presidencies in 2006 and 1994. But voters are uneasy about the effectiveness of President Obama's economic polices - 27 percent say he has made things better and 24 percent say he has made the economy worse. Further complicating the picture is that neither the Democratic nor the Republican parties are viewed favorably, but views on the GOP have improved in recent months. Sixty percent said the GOP has done a poor job offering solutions, while 52 percent said the same about the Democrats. Health care reform legislation, President Obama's signature initiative, isn't wildly popular, but it is more popular than Congress doing nothing on the issue. While 50 percent in the Pew poll said they "generally oppose" the health care bills before Congress, 61 percent said they would rather Congress pass the current bills or keep working on those bills, while just 26 percent wants Congress to leave the current system in place. The poll was conducted from Feb. 3-9 among 1,383 adults on landlines and cell phones. The results will be discussed on Friday's NewsHour. Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Center, will join us in our studio to discuss their findings. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now