A new poll by Zogby Analytics shows the President gaining two percentage points in his approval rating since earlier in May. The new poll, conducted online among 902 likely voters (May 21-22) has the President's approval at 47%, with 50% disapproving.
A close look at the Zogby poll's internals reveals some significant areas of improvement. He gained four points among women - 49%, up from 45% on May 2-3 - and voters over 65 years of age, 37%, up from 32%. Mr. Obama also improved his standing with Democrats by four points (81%, compared with 77%), liberals (83%, from 79%), and 50-64 year olds (42%, from 38%).
Most notably, the President appears to have regained some lost ground among Hispanic voters. The new poll shows his rating to back to 73% (from 66% in early May), a figure he was polling right after the beginning of his second term. He ticked up to 86% among African Americans (from 84%), but more importantly for him and his party, his disapproval rating among black voters went down to 10% (from 14%). That leaves only 4% undecided among African American voters, possibly meaning the potential for a decent turnout in November.
Also on a brighter note for the President, 34% of likely voters feel their personal finances will be better off in four years, compared with 24% who say they will be worse and 33% who feel they will be about the same. Those most optimistic are 18-29 year olds (47% optimistic, 17% pessimistic), another key to the President's success in November. If his campaign for Democrats can capture this mood among young voters, he has a shot of getting them out to vote, again as part of his successful election coalition. Otherwise, there is a clear partisan divide on voters' outlook: Democrats are optimistic 49% to 13%, Republicans are pessimistic 31% to 23%, and independents are tied at 29% each.
Overall, voters are optimistic about the future of the United States in four years - 51% optimistic to 42% pessimistic. Meanwhile, still only 28% feel the country is headed in the right direction, while 57% say things are off on the wrong track. And Congress has a job approval of 22%, while 62% disapprove.
There are clearly lurking shadows for both parties as they head into the 2014 election. The new Zogby poll has some better news for the GOP and I will examine them in my next piece.