Poll: Americans more likely to say Obama successful

Americans are more likely than ever to say President Barack Obama’s time in the White House has been successful, according to a new CNN/ORC poll released Thursday.

Fifty percent of Americans surveyed say Obama’s time in office has been a success, with 47 percent responding that it has been a failure. Among those saying it has been a failure, 37 percent blame the president’s own actions, 9 percent blame Congress and 1 percent are not sure.


Obama’s favorability rating rose to 52 percent, the first time he has polled above 50 percent in the CNN/ORC survey since November 2012.

The last time the question was asked, in January 2011, 48 percent said they considered Obama’s time in office to be a failure, compared to 45 percent who deemed it successful.

The numbers fall somewhere between where Obama’s two predecessors stood at similar points in their presidencies. In January 2007, 39 percent said they considered President George W. Bush’s time in office successful, while 55 percent called it a failure. On the other hand, 77 percent deemed President Bill Clinton’s presidency favorably with only 20 percent assessing it as a failure.

Among Americans surveyed, 53 percent say things are going well in the United States, compared to 46 percent who disagree. That is the highest percentage responding that way during Obama’s time in office, though not statistically higher than the 52 percent who responded favorably in November 2014.

The survey polled 1,009 adult Americans from March 13-15 via landline and cell phone, with an overall margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points.