by Since the death of Osama bin Laden as a result of the successful raid of his hideout in Pakistan, the approval rating of President Barak Obama, have improved according to a recent poll.
Obama’s Ratings Up, But Not by Much
NBC News conducted a telephone poll of 800 adults between May 5 and May 7, asking people about their opinions of Obama’s performance in several spheres of his leadership. The poll showed that Obama’s overall ratings went up by 3% since before the raid on bin Laden’s hideout, a surprisingly low improvement considering the importance of and reaction by the American people to the raid .
Foreign Policy Up, Domestic Policy Down
The reason Obama’s ratings did not vastly improve is because in other areas aside from foreign policy, citizens seem to continue to be unhappy about Obama’s performance. Americans are still worried about the faltering economy which has seen slower growth in recent days with continuing high unemployment hovering at about the 9% level.Overall, respondents gave Obama a 52% job approval rating, up from 49% he received in April before the raid took place. The small difference is from the fact that only 31% of those asked think that the economy will improve in the next year, down from 40% in January. There was also a decline in the number of people who approve of Obama is handling the economy, down to 37%.In other areas, however, people are happier with Obama’s performance. He has gotten better ratings for his leadership, crisis management, and how well he performs as the commander in chief.
Rally Effect Can Quickly Dissipate
Improved approval ratings for presidents are commonly seen after startling successes or unexpected events which have a unifying effect on the nation. These so-called “rally effects” are usually just blips on the map as far as approval ratings go, and usually disappear relatively quickly.
Re-Election Seems Assured, for Now
For the time being, however, Obama is reaping the benefits of his perceived handling of the attack on bin Laden combined with a not very enticing list of possible Republican presidential candidates. When asked who they would most likely vote for in the upcoming presidential election of 2012, 45 percent said they would pick Obama, the Democratic incumbent; and 30% said they would vote for the Republican. That 15 % differential is way up from the 5 % margin polls saw last month.
