Community Corner

Jersey's Loving Obama. Are You?

FDU poll says the president's doing well.

It seems New Jersey's keen on Obama.

The latest poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind says the president's seen an 8-point bump since the organization surveyed voters in April. Maybe it has something to do with a certain terrorist leader's demise. Maybe it has something to do with his performance at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Maybe New Jersey's just feeling a little bluer than red these days.

What about you? How do you feel about the job the president's doing? Want to give him a pat on the back about bin Laden? Afraid he'll never get the country's economy going? Tell us what you think of President Barack Obama's performance in the comments.

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Here's FDU's release on its latest poll:

According to the most recent statewide poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind, 55% of New Jersey voters approve of the way President Obama is handling his job as president, an 8-point bump from April. Thirty six percent disapprove, showing a 6-point decline from April.  The 19-point spread, 55%-36%, is a dramatic increase from 47%-42% as measured in early April.

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Among Republicans Obama’s approval rating increased by a third to 21% from 16%, while Democrats approval of the president increased by 9 points to 82% from 73%.

“The president has had a good month,” said Peter Woolley, a political scientist and director of the poll. “In particular, his high profile in foreign policy is reflected in these numbers.”

But people are still anxious about the future. Just one-third of Garden State voters (34%) say the country is “headed in the right direction,” essentially unchanged from April (32%).  Meanwhile, 51% say the country is “on the wrong track.”  Another 15% are unsure.

The Fairleigh Dickinson University poll of 804 registered voters statewide was conducted by telephone using both landlines and cell phones from May 16 through May 22, 2011, and has a margin of error of +/-3.5 percentage points.


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