3 out of 4 Americans optimistic about Obama's presidency: poll

New York, Feb. 24 (ANI): A remarkably high level of optimism among Americans about President Obama's leadership has provided him substantial political clout to counter the nation's economic challenges and opposition by nearly all the republicans in the Congress, a survey reveals.

According to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, more than three-quarters Americans polled said they were optimistic about the next four years with Obama as president, although they were patient about the economy, with most saying it would be years before significant improvement.

Just a month into Presidency, the high level of optimism enjoyed by Obama is similar to Ronald Reagan, who led the nation out of economic gloom. His of 63 percent job approval rating is about ten percent higher than both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. The rating includes 88 percent of Democrats and 44 percent of Republicans.

However, the poll found that 69 percent of Americans would like the White House administration to reverse its Iraq policy. Apparently, Obama is continuing many practices of the Bush administration, including the barring of photographs of the coffins carrying soldiers killed in Iraq.

A majority of people in both parties accepted that Obama wanted to work in a bipartisan way, but Republicans had objected to the 787 billion dollar economic stimulus plan for political reasons. But 56 percent of those surveyed said Obama's priority, should be working on the policies he proposed during his, rather than working with Republicans.

The poll also captured skepticism about how effective his plans will prove to be in addressing the deep recession.

A majority of people said that Obama administration's bailout plans for financial institutions would benefit bankers, not all Americans. Even more respondents said the struggling automotive companies, which are seeking billions of dollars in additional loans from the government should not receive any more money.

"The government doesn't step up and help other industries, so why should they help the banks and the auto companies? It's not fair. Our taxpayer money is going to bail out all these corrupt people who are making millions." Margie Rowe, a Democrat from Ahoskie, N.C., said.

A total of 1,112 adults took part in the national telephone poll, which has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

The poll also found that the public was more focused on jobs than on other dimensions of the economy, like the home mortgage crisis.

A majority of Americans, 55 percent, say they are just making ends meet, with more than 6 in 10 concerned that someone in their household might lose his job in the next year, the poll revealed. (ANI)