America Split Down Middle On President Obama's Job Performance

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - America is basically split down the middle when it comes to how well President Barack Obama is doing his job.

A Quinnipiac University National poll released Thursday found American voters were split 49 – 48 percent job when it came to the president's approval rating. It was his best net score in almost three years.

As you would expect there were gender, age, racial and partisan gaps in the scores.

While men disapproved 53 – 43 percent, women approved 54 – 43 percent. White voters disapproved 57 – 40 percent while non-white voters approve 75 – 21 percent.

The President scored his highest approval rating among voters 18 to 34 years old; they approved of his job performance by a margin of 62 – 35 percent. Approval drops to 51 – 44 percent among voters 35 to 49 years old, to a negative 44 – 53 percent among voters 50 to 64 years old, to a negative 37 – 61 percent among voters over 65 years old.

Democrats approve 92 – 7 percent while Republicans disapprove 89 – 8 percent. Independent voters disapprove 50 to 44 percent.

In this election year, American voters dislike Republicans in Congress a lot more than they dislike Democrats.

While Democrats received a negative 32 – 62 percent job approval rating, Republicans got a negative 15 – 81 percent job approval rating.

"Let's face it: Both parties are deeply unpopular, but the Democrats are the least reviled," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

When it came to whether the U.S. Senate should consider the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court rather than wait until there is a new president, 62 percent of those surveyed said it should go ahead while 33 percent it should wait.

Supporting action are Democrats 87 – 8 percent and independent voters 63 – 31 percent, with Republicans opposed 62 – 33 percent.

There was support for Senate consideration of Garland among men and women and among all age and racial groups listed.
Voters approve 48 – 27 percent of the nomination of Judge Garland. Again, Republicans are the only listed group opposed.

"He may never get the job or even get a chance to tell his story, but Americans think Judge Merrick Garland is the right person for the Supreme Court," Malloy said.

Only 29 percent of American voters are "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied" with the way things are going in the nation today, while 70 percent are "somewhat dissatisfied" or "very dissatisfied."

The survey was conducted from March 16th to 21st. Quinnipiac University polled 1,451 registered voters nationwide. The poll has a margin of error of about two and a half percent.