The PPP reports that Barack Obama’s approval numbers in North Carolina continue to be solid, with 54 percent of voters in the state expressing support for the job he’s doing this month compared to 38 percent who disapprove.

Bev Perdue’s approval rating has fallen over the last month from 44/35 to 41/40 following the unveiling of her budget proposal.

PPP’s first look at Kay Hagan’s approval rating finds 36% of voters in the state approving and 34% disapproving of her job performance.

More than half of North Carolinians are unaware that state laws exist to allow public access to government records, according to the latest Elon University Poll, but nearly all respondents feel democracy is best when it operates openly.
 
The poll, conducted March 15-19, surveyed 620 North Carolina residents and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.0 percentage points. Respondents were polled during Sunshine Week, an effort by the American Society of Newspaper Editors to educate citizens about open government and access to records.
           
Sixty-three percent of respondents said they are not familiar with Sunshine Laws – rules for open meetings and access to government records – in North Carolina. Despite the lack of awareness, most citizens see the value of public access to records.  Sixty-eight percent said this kind of access is “very important,” while 88 percent feel open records and meetings keep government operations honest. 
 
Sixty-nine percent of respondents rejected the notion that closed records and meetings allow government to get things done more effectively.  While the majority of citizens advocate for government transparency, 77 percent feel exceptions should be made if such action will aid the war on terrorism.

More than half of respondents (52 percent) have attempted to gain access to public documents in the past.  Of these individuals, 83 percent were successful in their efforts.
 
Issues facing North Carolina and approval ratings

The economy remained the top concern facing North Carolinians surveyed as part of the same poll, with 44 percent of residents identifying it as the most vital issue facing the state. Twenty-six percent of respondents identified jobs and unemployment as the most significant issue for North Carolinians.
 
Most North Carolinians approve of President Obama’s handling of his job, the economy and the war in Iraq.
 
Sixty-one percent of residents say they approve of the way Obama is performing.  Fifty-eight percent of respondents approve of President Obama’s handling of the economy, while 35 percent disapprove.
Obama has gained the support of North Carolinians in regard to the war in Iraq, with 65 percent approving of how he is handling the conflict. Even with this support in place, 44 percent felt that the nation is more at risk of future terrorist attacks.
 
North Carolinians believe Obama’s plan to withdraw most U.S. troops from Iraq is appropriate, with 68 percent supporting the policy.  When asked whether the war in Iraq was worth fighting:

• 54 percent of respondents indicated it was not worth fighting.
• 40 percent stand behind the war.

“Despite the gloomy outlook on national affairs, North Carolinians maintain their confidence in the new president’s leadership on both the economy and the war in Iraq,” said Hunter Bacot, director of the Elon University Poll.
           
Fifty three percent of North Carolinians approve of the job the Democratic members of the state General Assembly are doing, with 26 percent disapproving. Conversely, the Republicans received an approval rating of 41 percent, while 37 percent of those polled disapproved of their performance.
 
Respondents were asked about the effectiveness of North Carolina Senate and House leadership. The results were as follows:

• Leadership in the N.C. House of Representatives
• 50 percent approve of the job by House leadership
• 23 percent disapprove of the job by House leadership
   
• Leadership in the N.C. Senate
• 50 percent approve of the job by Senate leadership
• 25 percent disapprove of the job by Senate leadership
   

North Carolinians also asked about the performance of their House and Senate representatives in the state legislature. The results were as follows:
 
State House Representatives

• 56 percent approve of their performance
• 10 percent disapprove of their performance
   
  State Senate Representatives
• 58 percent approve of their performance
• 18 percent disapprove of their performance

According to a survey from Public Policy Polling, many North Carolina voters don’t like Gov. Bev Perdue’s proposal to help balance the budget using lottery money, but her approval ratings remain high.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Only half of North Carolina voters support the recently passed economic stimulus package passed by Congress and signed into law last week by President Barack Obama according to a new poll released Tuesday by the Civitas Institute.

According to the live caller poll of 600 voters, when asked if they supported or opposed the recently passed economic stimulus package, 50 percent of the voters responded they supported the bill while 36 percent opposed it. Thirteen percent were unsure.

However, when asked the likelihood that the stimulus package will make things worse instead of better, 49 percent of voters responded either somewhat or very likely to make things worse. Only 39 percent said it was unlikely to get worse.

“Our poll shows that while half of North Carolina voters support the plan, nearly the same number thinks there is a good chance the bill will actually exasperate the current economic problems,” said Francis De Luca, executive director of the Civitas Institute.  “The popularity of this stimulus package appears to be tied directly with the opinion of President Obama’s job performance. How this package does over time will have a direct impact on his job approval numbers.”

When certain details of the contents of the economic stimulus plan were revealed to voters, support for the plan further decreased.

Fifty percent of voters said they would be less likely to support the plan if they knew that the tax cuts in the plan would only yield the average worker approximately $13 more per week. Nearly one-quarter of voters who originally voiced support for the plan said this fact would make them less likely to support the bill.

“The public is fairly well convinced that something needs to be done to help spur economic growth, however, they are very skeptical that this bill is the right way to go,” added De Luca.
Full text of questions:
Do you support or oppose the $789 billion stimulus package?
Support – 50%
Oppose – 36%
Not Sure – 13%

How likely is it that the final economic recovery plan passed by Congress will make things worse instead of better?

Very Likely – 19%
Somewhat Likely – 30%
Somewhat Unlikely – 25%
Not at all Likely – 14%
Not Sure – 11%

If you knew that the tax cuts in the stimulus package would only yield the average worker approximately $13 more per week in their paycheck, would you be more or less likely to support the package?

More – 40%
Less – 50%
Not Sure – 10%

The study of 600 registered voters was conducted Feb.16-19, 2009. All respondents were part of a fully representative sample of registered voters in North Carolina. For purposes of this study, voters we interviewed had to have voted in either the 2004, 2006 or 2008 general elections or were newly registered voters since 2008.

The confidence interval associated with a sample of this size is such that: 95 percent of the time, results from 600 interviews (registered voters) will be within +-4% of the “True Values.”  True Values refer to the results obtained if it were possible to interview every person in North Carolina who had voted in either the 2004, 2006 or 2008 general elections or were newly registered voters since 2008.

Barack Obama may have taken North Carolina by the smallest of margins in November, but PPP’s newest survey finds that he’s won over a lot of voters in the state in the subsequent 11 weeks.

WASHINGTON – On the eve of his presidential inauguration, Barack Obama enjoys stronger public support than he did on Election Day. More Americans approve of him now than voted for him, and he wins the optimism test hands down.

Pollsters routinely ask people right before inaugurations if they’re optimistic or pessimistic about the next four years with the incoming president. Eight in 10 people say they’re optimistic about the next four years with Obama, according to the New York Times/CBS News Poll released Sunday. To get 80 percent of Americans to agree on anything is phenomenal.

Four years ago, 58 percent of people said they were optimistic about the next four years with George W. Bush, and he’s leaving office with about 22 percent of people approving of his job performance.

Democratic presidents tend to ride in on waves of optimism. Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter both entered office with 70 percent optimism scores.

So, the inevitable question: Is this as good as it gets for the 44th president?

Likely, it is. The problem with the bright, effervescent inaugural euphoria that has happily infected so many around the country is that there’s a cure. It’s called Wednesday.

Enjoy today and Tuesday — the enthusiastic crowds, the pomp of the swearing-in, stirring patriotic words and music, the parade, the balls. Come Wednesday, Obama is the incumbent president. No longer will it be Bush’s war, Bush’s failed economy or Bush’s bloated federal deficit. Obama is inheriting them all.

To be sure, Americans always give new presidents the benefit of the doubt. Obama will start his term way ahead of his predecessors in the affection of the public, and polls indicate that people are willing to give him time to clean up the messes. But, let’s face it, people are impatient. Already, the European pundits are starting to complain he won’t be able to fix everything.

For his part, Obama has started adding ballast to control the public opinion balloon. At the concert at Lincoln Memorial Sunday afternoon, he said, “In the course of our history, only a handful of generations have been asked to confront challenges as serious as the ones we face right now.”

He named war, an economy in crisis, people worried about paying bills and college tuition and their grave uncertainty about the future.

“I won’t pretend that meeting any one of these challenges will be easy. It will take more than a month or a year, and it will likely take many. Along the way there will be setbacks and false starts and days that test our resolve as a nation,” he said.

So there it is. But Obama also offered the hope he’s famous for, calling on the people to join together.

“Never forget that the true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease, but by the right we do when the moment is hard,” he said.

And that made people cheer again.

What do you think? Comment at mgwashington.com or e-mail mmercer@mediageneral.com.