May 5, 2011 - Obama Gets 6-Point Spike After Bin Laden Dies, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; But Score On Economy And Reelection Unchanged Word format American voters approve 52 - 40 percent of the job President Barack Obama is doing, his highest score in almost two years and up from a 46 - 48 percent approval among voters surveyed before the president announced the death of Osama bin Laden, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. This is President Obama's highest job approval since a 57 - 33 percent score in a July 2, 2009, survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. Men shift from a negative 39 - 54 percent before the bin Laden announcement to a positive 51 - 42 percent today. Women approve 53 - 39 percent today, compared to 52 - 43 percent as of Sunday. Voter approval of Obama's handling of foreign issues also is up this week. But Obama's 20-point negative score for handling the economy is unchanged and voter attitudes on whether he deserves reelection are only slightly improved. Pre- and post-bin Laden approval ratings for the president's handling of issues are: April 26-May 1 May 2-3 Handling foreign policy 43 - 48 percent 51 - 39 percent Handling Afghanistan 41 - 50 percent 59 - 30 percent Handling Libya 41 - 48 percent 45 - 40 percent Handling the economy 37 - 57 percent 38 - 57 percent Voters surveyed after the bin Laden announcement say 46 - 42 percent that the president deserves to be reelected, compared to a negative 45 - 48 percent before bin Laden. "The killing of Osama bin Laden has helped President Barack Obama's popularity but not massively," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Voters have upped their opinion of the president's handling of national security matters." "But they have not changed their minds about his stewardship of the economy. The number of people opposed to his reelection has dropped, although they seem to have moved to 'undecided,' rather than to the pro-Obama column," Brown added. "The good news for the president is that his largest improvement is among two key groups, men and independent voters." Independent voters go from a negative 41 - 52 percent overall approval as of Sunday to a positive 47 - 41 percent today. But only 36 percent of independent voters say today he deserves reelection, compared to 41 percent Sunday. Voters today approve 67 - 27 percent of the way Obama is handling terrorism, a question not asked before Monday. This is Obama's highest mark on handling terrorism. While American voter opinion of Obama's handling of the economy remains unchanged, there is a small spike in another question on the economy: Before bin Laden, 43 percent of voters trusted Obama to do a better job on the economy while 44 percent trusted Republicans in Congress to do a better job. After bin Laden, voters trust Obama more than Republicans 46 - 37 percent. There is almost no change on who voters trust more to handle the federal budget deficit, tipping to Republicans 46 - 42 percent before bin Laden and 44 - 42 percent after bin Laden. As of Sunday, voters said 60 - 34 percent that the U.S. should not be involved in Afghanistan. Today, voters split 46 - 47 percent. Attitudes about U.S. involvement in Libya shifted slightly also, from 53 - 37 percent opposed Sunday to 48 - 39 percent opposed today. A terrorist attack on the U.S. in the near future causing significant loss of life is very likely, 22 percent of American voters say, while 41 percent say an attack is somewhat likely. Another 27 percent say not very likely and 7 percent say not likely at all. "The big question, now that we know how large the initial bump is for the president, is how long it will last," Brown said. From April 26 - May 1, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,409 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points. An additional 834 registered voters were surveyed May 2 - 3 with a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 16. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? PRE BIN LADEN KILLING................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 46% 11% 85% 41% 39% 52% Disapprove 48 86 9 52 54 43 DK/NA 6 3 6 7 7 6 POST BIN LADEN KILLING................ Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 52% 18% 88% 47% 51% 53% Disapprove 40 74 9 41 42 39 DK/NA 8 8 4 11 7 9 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? (*High also 59% Mar 2009) BIN LADEN DEATH APPROVE....... Post Pre High Low May 05 May 05 Mar 30 Mar 03 Jan 13 Jun 04 Mar 30 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2009* 2011 Approve 52 46 42 46 48 59 42 Disapprove 40 48 48 46 44 31 48 DK/NA 8 6 10 8 8 10 10 19. Looking ahead to the 2012 election for President... Do you feel that Barack Obama deserves to be reelected, or do you feel that he does not deserve to be reelected? PRE BIN LADEN KILLING................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes/Deserves 45% 9% 87% 41% 41% 49% No/Does not 48 88 8 50 54 43 DK/NA 6 3 5 8 5 8 POST BIN LADEN KILLING................ Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes/Deserves 46% 9% 87% 36% 46% 46% No/Does not 42 78 9 46 43 41 DK/NA 11 14 5 18 10 12 TREND: Looking ahead to the 2012 election for President, do you feel that Barack Obama deserves to be reelected, or do you feel that he does not deserve to be reelected? BIN LADEN DEATH Post Pre May 05 May 05 Mar 30 Mar 03 Nov 22 Jul 21 Mar 25 2011 2011 2011 2011 2010 2010 2010 Yes/deserves 46 45 41 45 43 40 40 No/does not 42 48 50 47 49 48 48 DK/NA 11 6 9 7 9 12 11 20. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in the nation today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? PRE BIN LADEN KILLING................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Very satisfied 3% 1% 7% 1% 3% 3% Smwht satisfied 25 9 45 21 23 27 Smwht dissatisfied 26 26 27 25 26 27 Very dissatisfied 44 63 20 52 47 42 DK/NA 1 - 1 1 1 1 POST BIN LADEN KILLING................ Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Very satisfied 6% 2% 12% 3% 7% 5% Smwht satisfied 32 15 47 26 32 32 Smwht dissatisfied 29 32 25 34 25 32 Very dissatisfied 33 51 15 35 36 31 DK/NA - - - 1 - 1 TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in the nation today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? BIN LADEN DEATH VERY+SMWHT SAT Post Pre High Low May 05 May 05 Mar 30 Mar 03 Jan 18 Dec 11 Nov 13 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2001 2008 Very satisfied 6 3 2 1 2 21 2 Smwht satisfied 32 25 21 26 25 47 14 Smwht dissatisfied 29 26 37 32 38 19 38 Very dissatisfied 33 44 40 40 34 10 44 DK/NA - 1 1 1 1 3 2 22. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - the economy? PRE BIN LADEN KILLING................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 37% 7% 73% 35% 34% 41% Disapprove 57 90 21 60 61 53 DK/NA 6 3 6 6 5 6 POST BIN LADEN KILLING................ Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 38% 11% 70% 29% 39% 37% Disapprove 57 86 27 63 55 58 DK/NA 5 3 3 8 6 5 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling the economy? BIN LADEN DEATH APPROVE...... Post Pre High Low May 05 May 05 Mar 30 Mar 03 Jan 18 Mar 04 Mar 30 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2009 2011 Approve 38 37 34 38 40 57 34 Disapprove 57 57 60 59 53 33 60 DK/NA 5 6 5 4 7 10 5 23. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - foreign policy? PRE BIN LADEN KILLING................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 43% 15% 75% 39% 41% 45% Disapprove 48 76 15 52 53 42 DK/NA 10 9 10 9 6 13 POST BIN LADEN KILLING................ Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 51% 26% 82% 45% 53% 49% Disapprove 39 65 10 40 40 38 DK/NA 10 8 8 15 7 13 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling foreign policy? BIN LADEN DEATH APPROVE....... Post Pre High Low May 05 May 05 Mar 30 Mar 03 Jan 13 Apr 29 Mar 30 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2009 2011 Approve 51 43 41 43 47 57 41 Disapprove 39 48 47 45 38 32 47 DK/NA 10 10 12 12 15 11 12 24. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - the situation in Afghanistan? PRE BIN LADEN KILLING................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 41% 24% 61% 42% 47% 36% Disapprove 50 68 29 53 46 54 DK/NA 8 9 10 5 7 10 POST BIN LADEN KILLING................ Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 59% 45% 78% 56% 60% 59% Disapprove 30 42 16 34 31 30 DK/NA 10 13 6 10 9 12 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling the situation in Afghanistan? (*Post Bin Laden Death) BIN LADEN DEATH APPROVE....... Post Pre High Low May 05 May 05 Mar 30 Mar 03 Jan 18 May 05 Nov 18 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011* 2009 Approve 59 41 42 43 46 59 38 Disapprove 30 50 45 46 40 30 49 DK/NA 10 8 13 11 14 10 12 24a. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - terrorism? POST BIN LADEN KILLING................ Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 67% 48% 91% 60% 68% 66% Disapprove 27 46 6 29 29 25 DK/NA 7 6 3 11 3 9 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling terrorism? BIN LADEN DEATH Post May 05 May 26 Apr 22 Mar 25 Feb 10 Jan 13 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 Approve 67 49 49 49 49 48 Disapprove 27 41 41 41 44 44 DK/NA 7 10 10 9 8 8 25. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - the situation in Libya? PRE BIN LADEN KILLING................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 41% 21% 67% 37% 43% 39% Disapprove 48 70 21 53 49 47 DK/NA 11 9 11 10 8 14 POST BIN LADEN KILLING................ Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 45% 33% 67% 39% 44% 46% Disapprove 40 52 22 44 44 36 DK/NA 15 15 11 17 12 18 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling the situation in Libya? BIN LADEN DEATH Post Pre May 05 May 05 Mar 30 2011 2011 2011 Approve 45 41 41 Disapprove 40 48 45 DK/NA 15 11 14 33. Who do you trust to do a better job handling the economy - President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? PRE BIN LADEN KILLING................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Obama 43% 5% 85% 38% 38% 48% Reps in Congress 44 86 6 43 50 37 DK/NA 13 9 9 20 11 15 POST BIN LADEN KILLING................ Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Obama 46% 6% 90% 36% 44% 48% Reps in Congress 37 80 5 39 41 33 DK/NA 17 14 5 25 15 18 TREND: Who do you trust to do a better job handling the economy -President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? BIN LADEN DEATH OBAMA.......... Post Pre High Low May 05 May 05 Mar 03 Jan 18 Nov 17 Aug 06 Jul 22 2011 2011 2011 2011 2010 2009 2010 Obama 46 43 45 46 42 47 41 Reps in Congress 37 44 45 39 45 36 42 DK/NA 17 13 10 14 14 17 17 36. Who do you trust to do a better job handling the federal budget deficit - President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? PRE BIN LADEN KILLING................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Obama 42% 7% 81% 38% 37% 48% Reps in Congress 46 87 9 46 53 40 DK/NA 11 7 10 16 10 12 POST BIN LADEN KILLING................ Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Obama 42% 6% 85% 29% 38% 46% Reps in Congress 44 82 9 48 50 38 DK/NA 14 11 6 23 12 16 TREND: Who do you trust to do a better job handling the budget deficit, President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? BIN LADEN DEATH Post Pre May 05 May 05 Mar 3 201 2011 2011 Obama 42 42 43 Reps in Congress 44 46 46 DK/NA 14 11 11 59. Do you think the U.S. is doing the right thing by fighting the war in Afghanistan now, or should the U.S. not be involved in Afghanistan now? PRE BIN LADEN KILLING................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Right thing 34% 46% 27% 31% 44% 25% Shld not be involved 60 46 65 66 52 67 DK/NA 6 8 7 3 4 8 POST BIN LADEN KILLING................ Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Right thing 46% 59% 41% 41% 47% 45% Shld not be involved 47 37 51 51 48 47 DK/NA 7 5 7 7 6 7 TREND: Do you think the U.S. is doing the right thing by fighting the war in Afghanistan now, or should the U.S. not be involved in Afghanistan now? (*Pre Bin Laden Death) BIN LADEN DEATH RIGHT THING... Post Pre High Low May 05 May 05 Mar 30 Jan 18 Nov 18 Jan 14 May 05 2011 2011 2011 2011 2010 2010 2011* Right thing 46 34 41 41 44 59 34 Shld not be involved 47 60 50 51 50 35 60 DK/NA 7 6 9 8 6 6 6 60. Do you think the U.S. is doing the right thing by using military force in Libya now, or should the U.S. not be involved in Libya now? PRE BIN LADEN KILLING................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Right thing 37% 36% 44% 31% 46% 28% Shld not be involved 53 55 45 60 49 57 DK/NA 10 9 11 8 5 15 POST BIN LADEN KILLING................ Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Right thing 39% 36% 45% 40% 39% 39% Shld not be involved 48 53 45 47 50 47 DK/NA 12 10 9 13 11 14 TREND: Do you think the U.S. is doing the right thing by using military force in Libya now, or should the U.S. not be involved in Libya now? BIN LADEN DEATH Post Pre May 05 May 05 Mar 30 2011 2011 2011 Right thing 39 37 41 Shld not be involved 48 53 47 DK/NA 12 10 12 61. How likely do you think it is that in the near future there will be a terrorist attack in the United States causing large numbers of lives to be lost? Very likely, somewhat likely, not very likely, or not likely at all? POST BIN LADEN KILLING................ Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Very likely 22% 28% 18% 20% 16% 27% Smwht likely 41 43 36 48 40 41 Not very likely 27 20 36 22 31 23 Not likely at all 7 6 10 4 11 4 DK/NA 4 3 1 6 3 5 TREND: How likely do you think it is that in the near future there will be a terrorist attack in the United States causing large numbers of lives to be lost? Very likely, somewhat likely, not very likely, or not likely at all? BIN LADEN DEATH Post May 05 Jan 14 Jul 28 May 5 Feb 21 Dec 10 2011 2010 2005 2004 2002 2001 Very likely 22 35 40 26 31 31 Somewhat likely 41 43 45 50 49 43 Not very likely 27 16 10 16 14 17 Not likely at all 7 4 4 5 3 7 DK/NA 4 2 1 3 4 3
