AP Photo Poll: Obama approval highest in more than 2 years

For the first time in almost two and a half years, slightly more than half of Americans approve of the job that President Barack Obama is doing, according to the results of an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Monday afternoon. But Americans' slightly better views of the president do not translate to equal love for Congress.

Obama's job approval rating is now at 51 percent, a six-point jump from the same survey in July, and an 11-point boost from the same point last year, when just 40 percent said they approved of the job he is doing.


The president also won a majority of approval for his decision to keep troops in Afghanistan past the previously announced 2016 deadline, with 50 percent supporting and 39 percent opposed.

On the other hand, just 35 percent of Americans think Democratic lawmakers are doing a good job compared with 59 percent who do not, and just 24 percent approve of their Republican counterparts while 71 percent do not, with both numbers roughly in line with recent years' polling.

Among Republicans, a majority said they do not approve of their own party's lawmakers in Congress, 51 percent to 47 percent. The result was even more pronounced among self-identified conservatives, with 64 percent in disapproval. Self-described Democrats and liberals alike gave their party comparatively higher marks (65 percent to 31 percent among Democrats, and 60 percent to 39 percent among liberals).

Asked whether the ongoing search for a speaker of the House reflected healthy debate or dysfunction, a majority of 59 percent opted for the latter, and just 29 percent responded for the former.





Langer Research Associates conducted the poll from Oct. 15-18, surveying 1,001 adults nationwide via telephone in both English and Spanish. The margin of error for the survey is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.