It must be the “bin Laden bump!”
President Obama was grinning from ear to ear at a White House Cabinet meeting yesterday — and with good reason.
His public support — plagued in recent months by the lackluster economic revival and a national debt crisis — shot up 9 points just one day after he revealed the daring commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden, according to a new poll out yesterday.
The Washington Post-Pew Research Center Poll found that 56 percent of Americans approved of Obama’s job performance in a survey conducted Monday night — just after most Americans heard that Navy SEALs took out the al Qaeda terror chief in Pakistan.
Among those surveyed, only 38 percent disapproved of the commander in chief’s job performance.
By comparison, only 47 percent of voters backed Obama during a similar survey last month, while 45 percent gave thumbs down.
Convening his Cabinet yesterday, Obama looked far from the graying and tired commander-in-chief of recent months, instead sporting the broad-grinned expression that he wore during his days as a young front-runner for the White House in 2008.
Pew researchers said the sudden popularity surge is directly related to voters who giving Obama credit for nailing bin Laden.
For example, voter approval of his handling of the Afghan war and the war on terrorism skyrocketed 16 points and 14 points, respectively. About three-quarters of voters said he deserves at least some credit for eliminating bin Laden.
But the survey also provided warning signs for Obama that the bin Laden bounce could quickly evaporate if voters remain cranky about sky-high gas prices and stubborn unemployment, thus imperiling his 2012 re-election bid.
A majority of respondents — 55 percent — disapprove of Obama’s performance on the economy compared to 40 percent who approve. That troubling grade is unchanged from last month.
“It’s the old Ronald Reagan line. Am I better off today than I was four years ago,” said University of Virginia political science Professor Larry Sabato, referring to the slogan that Reagan successfully used to defeat incumbent Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential election. “Killing Osama doesn’t do a thing about the economy.”
George H.W. Bush is the textbook case of a strong commander-in-chief getting tossed out of office over economic malaise. Bush had nearly a 90 percent approval rating after the success of Operation Desert Storm in 1991 — only to be defeated the following year by Bill Clinton, whose campaign mantra was, “It’s the economy, stupid.”
But at least for now, voters are praising Obama over bin Laden. His support increased among groups of voters that were crucial to his 2008 election victory.
His backing from independents jumped 10 points from last month to 52 percent.
Support among young voters jumped 16 points to 68 percent.
Support from minorities also climbed, 13 points to 80 percent.
Obama’s approval rating remains unchanged with only one group: Republicans. A paltry 16 percent of GOP voters back him, which is about the same as last month.
ALL SMILES: President Obama can’t contain his glee at a Cabinet meeting yesterday with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. And why not? Bumping off bin Laden gave him a 9-point poll bump. (AP)
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