CBS NEWS POLL For release: Thursday, February 5, 2009 6:30 P.M. EST

THE ECONOMIC STIMULUS BILL, THE ECONOMY AND THE SEARCH FOR BI-PARTISANSHIP February 2-4, 2009

Americans want bi-partisanship in an economic stimulus bill – but while the President gets credit for reaching out, Americans don’t see either Congressional Democrats or Republicans doing the same. In fact, support for a large stimulus package has declined in the last month, even as the public’s job worries have increased to their highest level in more than a decade. President Obama’s 62% approval rating dwarfs the 26% approval rating Americans give Congress.

BI-PARTISANSHIP AND THE STIMULUS BILL

The public overwhelmingly (81%) believes President Obama is generally reaching out to Congressional Republicans – but just 41% think Republicans are returning the favor. And far fewer Americans see members of the President’s party in Congress reaching out to Republicans than say the President is – just 49% think Democrats are.

TRYING FOR BI-PARTISANSHIP Obama is 81% Congressional Republicans are 41% Congressional Democrats are 49%

Overall approval of Congress remains low: 26% approve, although that is an improvement from last fall.

81% of Americans say the economic stimulus bill should be a bi-partisan effort. Only 13% think it is okay for a bill to be passed with only the backing of the Democratic majority.

DOES THE STIMULUS NEED TO BE BI-PARTISAN? Yes 81% No 13

There is evidence Americans might accept some of what the Republicans in Congress are proposing. Given a choice between higher government spending and tax cuts for business, Americans choose tax cuts: 59% say that is a better approach towards trying to end the recession.

BEST WAY TO END RECESSION? Now 3/1938 (Gallup) More government spending 22% 15% Tax cuts for business 59 63

A similar question was asked by Gallup in 1938, with regard to that decade’s “depression” – and Americans’ answers seventy years ago were similar.

The idea of an $800-billion-plus stimulus package continues to get support. 51% favor it, 39% do not. However, support is down from January, when CBS News asked about a then-hypothetical stimulus package of $775 billion.

APPROVE OF FED GOV’T $800B STIMULUS? Now 1/09* Approve 51% 63% Disapprove 39 24 Don’t know 10 13 *”$775 Billion”

Despite their interest in bi-partisanship, Americans’ views on the bill are partisan. Most Republicans are opposed, most Democrats in favor, and independents are split.

Only 28% of Americans are following the discussion of the bill “very” closely. More, 46%, are just following it “somewhat” closely. But those following very closely are more likely to oppose the bill than those following just somewhat closely.

Views on the bill may be mixed because many are skeptical that the specific bill now being considered will actually shorten the recession. Only 21% think the current bill will have a significant impact on the crisis.

WILL THE BILL SHORTEN THE RECESSION? Yes, significantly 21% Yes, a little 18 No 45

Americans are more likely to say Congress isn’t acting fast enough than to say it’s moving too quickly. Just 16% think the Congress is rushing into this stimulus bill. 38% say it is moving too slowly.

IS CONGRESS MOVING ON STIMULUS BILL… Too quickly 16% Right pace 39 Too slowly 38

The Congress – on both sides of the aisle -- continues to receive low assessment overall. Most Americans give neither Congressional Democrats nor Republicans a favorable rating. Congressional Democrats do better: they get a 48% overall favorable rating, while Congressional Republicans score 32%.

VIEWS OF THE PARTIES IN CONGRESS Congressional Congressional Democrats Republicans Favorable 48% 32% Unfavorable 43 60

But the Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) gets a 3-to-1 negative rating from those familiar with her. That rating is more negative now than in 2007. However, Pelosi remains largely unknown to most Americans, and even to most Democrats.

VIEWS OF NANCY PELOSI Now 4/07 Favorable 10% 16% Unfavorable 30 21 Undecided/Don’t know 58 62

THE OBAMA PRESIDENCY

Newly-inaugurated presidents have historically enjoyed a favorable approval rating at this point in their presidencies, even while a significant percentage have not yet formed an opinion.

Barack Obama is no exception. Americans give the President a positive job approval rating as he concludes his first two weeks as the 44th president of the United States. 62% approve of the way he is handling his job and only 15% disapprove. 23% haven’t formed an opinion.

OBAMA JOB APPROVAL Approve 62% Disapprove 15 Don’t know 23

President Obama’s approval rating at this point in his term is nine points higher than his immediate two predecessors. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton scored 53% each. It is also higher than that for Ronald Reagan (55%), but lower than the ratings enjoyed by John F. Kennedy (72%), Dwight D. Eisenhower (68%), and Jimmy Carter (66%).

EARLY JOB APPROVAL RATINGS OF PAST PRESIDENTS (CBS News and Gallup Polls) Approve Disapprove Don’t know Obama (2/2009) 62% 15 23 G. W. Bush (2/2001) 53% 21 26 Clinton (2/1993) 53% 30 17 G. H. W. Bush (2/1989) 61% 9 30 Reagan (2/1981)* 55% 18 27 Carter (2/1977)* 66% 8 26 Nixon (2/1969)* 60% 6 34 Kennedy (2/1961)* 72% 6 22 Eisenhower (2/1953)* 68% 7 25 *Gallup Poll

Democrats overwhelmingly approve of the job President Obama is doing, while Republicans are evenly divided. Most independents approve.

On specific issues like the economy, the campaign against terrorism, and foreign policy, Americans also approve. But many Americans have yet to form an opinion on these matters.

OBAMA JOB APPROVALS Approve Disapprove Don’t know Overall 62% 15 23

Economy 55% 24 21 Terrorism 52% 17 31 Foreign policy 50% 15 35

One thing the vast majority of Americans agree on is that Barack Obama has strong qualities of leadership. 85% think he does. Just 62% of registered voters thought so in July 2008. Even 65% of Republicans now agree.

DOES BARACK OBAMA HAVE STRONG QUALITIES OF LEADERSHIP? All Dems Reps Ind Yes 85% 98% 65% 84% No 10 1 27 7

THE BAILOUT OF THE NATION’S BANKS

Americans continue to divide on the idea of the government providing money to the nation’s struggling banks and financial institutions, but slightly more now disapprove (47%) than approve (42%) of the idea. 46% approved in December.

VIEWS OF FINANCIAL INDUSTRY BAILOUT Now 12/2008 Approve 42% 46% Disapprove 47 44

Support for the financial bailout among Democrats has fallen by eight points over the past two months. Republicans disapproved in December and still do.

FINANCIAL INDUSTRY BAILOUT – PARTY ID Democrats Republicans Now 12/2008 Now 12/2008 Approve 49% 57% 35% 35% Disapprove 39 33 56 57

Yesterday, President Obama ordered the pay of some company executives who receive new federal bailout money capped at $500,000. Americans trust the federal government (54%) more than the financial institutions (27%) when it comes to deciding how bailout money should be spent.

WHO SHOULD DECIDE HOW THE BAILOUT MONEY IS SPENT? All Dems Reps Inds Federal government 54% 65% 44% 50% Financial institutions 27 19 32 32 Both (vol.) 3 2 4 3 Neither (vol.) 8 2 16 9

But the public stops short of endorsing a government takeover of the nation’s banks. 76% of Americans are opposed to the government owning and controlling banks. Interestingly, back in 1937 when the country was still mired in the Great Depression, there was more support for government control of the nation’s banks, although even then Americans were divided.

SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT OWN AND CONTROL THE BANKS? Now 8/1937 (Gallup) Yes 14% 41% No 76 42 Don’t know 10 17

JOBS AND THE ECONOMY

More Americans than at any time in more than a decade are concerned about job loss in their own family. 44% of Americans are very concerned that they or someone in their household will be out of work and looking for a job sometime in the next twelve months – an increase of 14 points from last month and the highest number since CBS News began asking the question in 1996. Another 28% are somewhat concerned.

CONCERN ABOUT HOUSEHOLD UNEMPLOYMENT OVER THE NEXT YEAR Now 1/2009 3/1996 Very concerned 44% 30% 37% Somewhat concerned 28 32 25 Not at all concerned 27 38 37

And nearly all Americans - 94% - say the nation’s economy is in bad shape -- the highest number in the more than two decades CBS News has been asking this question. Only 5% say the economy is good, an all-time low.

These negative economic assessments confronting President Obama are a stark contrast to those his predecessor faced eight years ago. In February 2001, about a month into George W. Bush’s presidency, 72% of Americans viewed the economy as good.

CONDITION OF THE ECONOMY Now 1/2009 2/2008 2/2001 Good 5% 7% 29% 72% Bad 94 92 70 26

The outlook for the economic future is pessimistic, but better than it was throughout 2008. Just over half -- 51% -- think the economy is getting worse – but that is the lowest percentage saying this in more than a year.

THINK THE ECONOMY IS GETTING… Now 1/2009 12/2008 Better 5% 7% 8% Worse 51 54 60 Staying the same 42 37 29

Most Americans (53%) expect the economic recession to last two years or longer, but that number is down from 68% last month. 39% think the recession will last six months to a year, up from 30% in January.

HOW LONG WILL RECESSION LAST? Now 1/2009 Six months 9% 5% A year 30 25 Two years 31 33 More than two years 22 35

THE DIRECTION OF THE COUNTRY

Although most Americans give Barack Obama positive grades, they are still worried about the country as a whole. Nearly seven in 10 Americans still think the country is on the wrong track, but that figure is 11 points lower than it was before the Inauguration (and 21 points lower than last fall). Nearly a quarter now says the country is headed in the right direction – up eight points from just last month and 16 points from its all-time low last October.

DIRECTION OF THE COUNTRY Now 1/2009 10/2008 9/2007 12/2003 Wrong track 68% 79% 89% 71% 43% Right direction 23 15 7 24 51

In fact, optimism is higher now than at any point since September 2007. The last time a majority of Americans thought the country was headed in the right direction was December 2003, right after the capture of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

CLOSING GUANTANAMO

President Obama has ordered the detention facility on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, shut down within a year. But many Americans continue to object. 44% agree that the facility should be shut down (44%), but 46% think it should be kept open (46%). Before the Inauguration, more Americans thought the detention facilities should be kept open.

SHOULD GUANTANAMO… Now 1/2009 7/2006 Be kept open 46% 48% 51% Be closed 44 40 34

However, only about a third of Americans (36%) thinks closing the detention facility will make the United States less safe from terrorism. About half (49%) thinks closing it will not have an impact; just a few (4%) think closing the prison will actually make the U.S. safer.

WILL CLOSING GUANTANAMO MAKE THE U.S…? Less safe 36% Safer 4 No difference 49

Americans who want to keep the facility open think closing it will make the U.S. less safe; while those who want it closed think closing it will not have an effect on the safety of the U.S. or will make the U.S. safer.

Americans give many reasons for wanting the detention facility on Guantanamo Bay closed, including some the President has cited. About a quarter of Americans who want the prison closed cite concerns about the treatment of prisoners: that they are being tortured, having their human rights violated, or mistreated. 16% think it is simply a waste of money, while 13% think closing the facility will improve the image of the United States and its relations with the rest of the world.

WHY SHOULD GUANTANAMO BE CLOSED? (Among those who want it closed) Treatment of prisoners/stop torture/human rights 24% Waste of money 16 Improve U.S. image 13

This poll was conducted among a random sample of 864 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone February 2-4, 2009. Phone numbers were dialed from RDD samples of both standard land-lines and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.

This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

CBS NEWS POLL The Economic Stimulus Bill, the Economy & Bi-Partisanship February 2-4, 2008 q1 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President?

** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ** *** Party ID *** Total Rep Dem Ind % % % % Approve 62 36 86 56 Disapprove 15 36 2 12 DK/NA 23 28 12 32 q2 Do you feel things in this country are generally going in the right direction or do you feel things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track?

Jan09a % Right direction 23 12 33 21 15 Wrong track 68 80 59 68 79 DK/NA 9 8 8 11 6 q3 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling foreign policy?

Approve 50 22 71 47 Disapprove 15 36 5 11 DK/NA 35 42 24 42 q4 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling the economy?

Approve 55 24 84 48 Disapprove 24 55 5 22 DK/NA 21 21 11 30 q5 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling the campaign against terrorism?

Approve 52 20 78 46 Disapprove 17 41 3 14 DK/NA 31 39 19 40 q6 BLANK q7 Do you think Barack Obama has strong qualities of leadership, or not?

Reg. Voters Jul08a Has 85 65 98 84 62 Does not have 10 27 1 7 14 DK/NA 5 8 1 9 24

q8 Is your opinion of Nancy Pelosi favorable, not favorable, undecided, or haven't you heard enough about Nancy Pelosi yet to have an opinion?

** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ** *** Party ID *** Total Rep Dem Ind Apr07a % % % % % Favorable 10 1 17 9 16 Not favorable 30 54 7 36 21 Undecided 17 18 18 16 13 Haven't heard enough 41 27 54 38 49 Refused 2 0 4 1 1 q9 How would you rate the condition of the national economy these days? Is it very good, fairly good, fairly bad, or very bad?

Jan09a Very good 0 0 0 0 1 Fairly good 5 4 4 7 6 Fairly bad 31 32 32 30 30 Very bad 63 63 64 62 62 DK/NA 1 1 0 1 1 q10 Do you think the economy is getting better, getting worse, or staying about the same?

Better 5 5 7 3 7 Worse 51 61 47 49 54 Same 42 33 44 46 37 DK/NA 2 1 2 2 2 q11, q12 BLANK q13 How long do you think the current recession will last --- six months, a year, two years or more than two years?

Six months 9 5 12 8 5 A year 30 34 32 27 25 Two years 31 25 32 33 33 More than 2 years 22 26 18 22 35 DK/NA 8 10 6 10 2 q14 In your opinion which will do more to get the U.S. out of the current recession: increasing government spending, or reducing taxes on business?

** HALF SAMPLE A** *** Party ID *** Gallup* Total Rep Dem Ind 3/1938 % % % % % Increasing gov't spending 22 9 40 13 15 Reducing taxes on business 59 73 43 65 63 Both (vol.) 4 4 2 6 21 Neither (vol.) 7 11 4 6 1 DK/NA 8 3 11 10 0 *Varied: In your opinion which will do more to get us out of the depression: increase government spending, or reduce taxes on business?

q15 In your opinion which will do more to get the U.S. out of the current recession: increasing government spending, or reducing taxes?

** HALF SAMPLE B ** *** Party ID *** Total Rep Dem Ind % % % % Increasing gov't spending 16 15 20 13 Reducing taxes 62 74 59 57 Both (vol.) 7 3 10 7 Neither (vol.) 7 1 6 13 DK/NA 8 7 5 10 q16 Do you think the federal government regulates business too much these days, does it regulate business too little, or does it impose the right amount of regulation on business?

** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ** *** Party ID *** Total Rep Dem Ind Sep08d % % % % % Too much 28 45 16 27 28 Too little 40 24 52 39 43 Right amount 18 20 21 13 16 Depends (vol.) 4 3 2 5 3 None (vol.) 0 0 0 0 10 Don't know/No answer 10 8 9 16 q17-18 FUTURE RELEASE q19 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job?

Oct08e Approve 26 17 38 20 15 Disapprove 62 79 48 64 75 DK/NA 12 4 14 16 10 q20 In general, is your opinion of the Democrats in Congress favorable or not favorable?

Feb07a Favorable 48 10 79 43 54 Not favorable 43 87 12 46 35 DK/NA 9 3 9 11 11 q21 In general, is your opinion of the Republicans in Congress favorable or not favorable?

Favorable 32 55 20 29 41 Not favorable 60 42 72 59 49 DK/NA 8 3 8 12 10 q22 Do you think Barack Obama is trying to work with Republicans in Congress in order to get things done, or isn't he?

Work with Reps 81 61 96 36 Not work with Reps 12 31 54 1 DK/NA 7 8 10 3

q23 Do you think Republicans in Congress are trying to work with Barack Obama in order to get things done, or aren't they?

** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ** *** Party ID *** Total Rep Dem Ind % % % % Work with Obama 41 57 35 36 Not work with Obama 47 34 54 48 DK/NA 12 9 11 16 q24 Do you think Democrats in Congress are trying to work with Republicans in Congress n order to get things done, or aren't they?

Work with Republicans 49 20 66 51 Not work with Republicans 38 71 17 35 DK/NA 13 9 17 14 q25-26 FUTURE RELEASE q27 Would you like to have the government own and control the banks?

Gallup 8/1937 Yes 14 7 21 12 41 No 76 87 65 78 42 DK/NA 10 6 14 10 17 q28 How closely have you been following news about the economic stimulus bill being negotiated by the president and Congress? Have you been following that very closely, somewhat closely, not too closely, or not at all?

Very closely 28 32 24 30 Somewhat closely 46 40 53 43 Not too closely 20 21 17 23 Not at all 4 7 2 5 DK/NA 2 0 4 0 q29 Would you approve or disapprove of the federal government passing an economic stimulus bill costing more than 800 billion dollars in order to try to help the economy?

Jan09a* Approve 51 36 67 45 63 Disapprove 39 60 20 44 24 DK/NA 10 4 13 11 13 *Varied: Would you approve or disapprove of the federal government passing a 775 billion dollar economic stimulus package in order to try to help the economy? q30 In response to the current economic crisis, do you think Congress is moving too fast, moving too slowly, or moving at about the right pace?

Too fast 16 25 9 18 Too slowly 38 34 38 41 Right pace 39 32 50 33 DK/NA 7 9 3 8

q31 Do you think the economic bill being negotiated by the President and Congress will shorten the length of the current recession, or not? IF YES: Will the economic stimulus bill shorten the recession significantly, or not significantly?

** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ** *** Party ID *** Total Rep Dem Ind % % % % Yes, shorten significantly 21 7 30 21 Yes, but NOT significantly 18 13 25 15 No, will not shorten 45 66 29 46 DK/NA 16 14 16 18 q32 BLANK q33 Do you think it is important for the economic stimulus bill to have the support of both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, or do think it is okay for the Democrats to pass the economic stimulus bill without getting Republican support?

Have support of both parties 81 87 80 78 Just Democrats okay 13 7 16 14 Shouldn't pass bill (vol.) 3 5 2 4 DK/NA 3 1 2 4 q34-36 BLANK q37 Do you approve or disapprove of the federal government providing money to banks and other financial institutions to try to help fix the country's economic problems?

Dec08a % Approve 42 35 49 40 46 Disapprove 47 56 39 49 44 Depends (Vol.) 8 6 9 8 5 DK/NA 3 3 3 3 5 q38 Who do you trust more to decide how money that the federal government provides to banks and financial institutions should be spent -- the federal government or the financial institutions themselves?

Federal gov't 54 44 65 50 Financial institutions 27 32 19 32 Both (vol.) 3 4 2 3 Neither (vol.) 8 16 2 9 DK/NA 8 4 12 6 q39 BLANK q40 How concerned are you that in the next 12 months you or someone else in your household might be out of work and looking for a job -- very concerned, somewhat concerned, or not concerned at all?

Jan09a Very concerned 44 38 45 47 30 Somewhat concerned 28 30 30 24 32 Not at all concerned 27 32 24 28 38 DK/NA 1 0 1 1 0

q41 FUTURE RELEASE; q42 BLANK q43 As you may know, for the past seven years the United States has been holding a number of suspected terrorists at a U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Based on what you have heard or read, do you think the U.S. should continue to operate the prison, or do you think the U.S. should close the prison and transfer the prisoners somewhere else?

** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ** *** Party ID *** Total Rep Dem Ind Jan09a % % % % % Continue to operate 46 74 25 47 48 Close it 44 17 65 40 40 DK/NA 10 9 10 13 12 q44 What is the main reason you think the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba should be closed?

THOSE WHO SAY “CLOSE IT” IN Q43 *** Party ID *** Total Rep Dem Ind % % % % Torture/human rights/treatment 24 15 28 18 Waste of money/too expensive 16 31 16 12 Will improve U.S. image in world 13 7 14 14 U.S. shouldn’t have a base in Cuba 6 8 6 6 What’s going on there is illegal 5 0 4 8 Prisoners should have access lawyers 5 0 4 8 Wrong to keep people there 4 5 3 5 Prisoners should be tried US courts 2 3 2 1 Prisoners tried in their own country 2 2 1 5 Prisoners there are not guilty 2 1 2 2 Other 7 18 5 9 DK/NA 14 10 15 12 q45 If the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay is closed, do you think that will make the United States safer from terrorism, less safe from terrorism, or will closing the prison in Guantanamo Bay not affect the United States' safety from terrorism?

** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ** *** Party ID *** Total Rep Dem Ind % % % % Safer 4 1 6 4 Less safe 36 64 19 35 No effect 49 29 63 49 DK/NA 11 6 12 12 ------UNWEIGHTED WEIGHTED Total Respondents 864

Total Republicans 233 220 Total Democrats 305 327 Total Independents 326 317

Half Sample A (q14) 447 457 Half Sample B (q15) 417 407