Reporting from Washington — Approaching his 100th day in the White House at a time of economic turmoil, President Barack Obama holds the approval of nearly two-thirds of Americans surveyed for the job that he is performing - and seven in 10 say they like Obama the man.
Most say they approve of the president's overall handling of the economy, although the effects of his policies remain uncertain.
Obama's job approval as president stands at 63% in a poll released this morning by the Washington-based Pew Research Center -- with just 26% of those surveyed saying they disapprove of the way that Obama is handling his job.
The president draws a similar rating in a new poll conducted by the Associated Press and GfK Roper Public Affairs and Media: 64% job approval. The AP-GfK survey also finds, for the first time in five years, more Americans saying the nation is headed in the right direction than those who say it is not.
The president's job approval also stands at 64% in the latest results of the Gallup Poll's daily tracking survey.
In a reversal of the way that voters traditionally view leaders of the two major political parties, the Democratic president draws better ratings in the Pew survey for his handling of foreign policy and terrorism than for his handling of domestic issues such as healthcare, taxes or the budget deficit.
Nevertheless, 60% of those surveyed by Pew say they approve of Obama's overall handling of the economy.
First Lady Michelle Obama also is having a honeymoon of her own with the American public, with 76% of those surveyed voicing a favorable view of her -- up from 62% in January, when the Obamas moved into the White House.
This is particularly true among Republican women, whose opinion of the first lady has grown by 21 points since January, to 67% approval in the newest survey. Among Republicans in general, the first lady holds the approval of 60%.
Still, the Pew poll, like others, reveals a wide disparity between Democrats and Republicans in the way they rate the new president's performance -- with 93% of Democrats surveyed voicing approval and just 30% of Republicans agreeing.
The Pew survey of 1,507 adults was conducted April 14-21 and carries a possible margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. The AP-GfK poll survey of 1,000 adults was run April 16-20, with a 3.1% margin of error.
