Obama Rated Best for Handling Fiscal Cliff Negotiations

PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans rate the way President Barack Obama is handling the fiscal cliff talks much better than they rate the job congressional leaders -- whether identified by name or generically -- are doing on the same issue. Even though Obama's approval rating is best, it still is below the majority level.

These results are based on a Dec. 15-16 USA Today/Gallup poll. Gallup has tracked approval of President Obama and the leaders in Congress for the last three weeks. Obama has always fared better than generic congressional leaders, with little change in the approval rating of each since early December.

The current poll is the first that asked Americans to rate the job Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are doing specifically. Both Boehner's and Reid's disapproval ratings are twice as high as their approval ratings, though at least one in four Americans do not have an opinion on how they are handling the talks.

Americans are more likely to offer an opinion on how the party congressional leaders, generically, are doing, which results in higher approval and disapproval ratings than for the leaders identified by name.

Obama's 48% fiscal cliff approval rating is a bit lower than his overall job approval rating, which averaged 52% in Dec. 10-16 Gallup Daily tracking.

Republicans Not Overly Positive About Their Leaders' Fiscal Cliff Performance

Republicans, including independents who lean to the Republican Party, are about equally likely to disapprove (40%) as to approve (41%) of the job Boehner is doing, a weak reading for a leader of one's preferred party. Republicans are a little more positive than negative -- 52% approve, 43% disapprove -- toward Republican leaders in Congress generically.

It is not clear from the data why Republicans are divided in their views of Boehner's handling of the negotiations. It could be because of a lack of clear progress on the issue to date, with no agreement imminent, or because they want Boehner to stand firm on Republican principles in the negotiations with Obama and the Democrats, or because they want him to compromise more with the Democrats.

As would be expected, Republicans' evaluations of President Obama, Democratic leaders in Congress, and Reid are highly negative.

Democrats are more positive about their party leaders' handling of the fiscal cliff negotiations than Republicans are about their party leaders. Democrats' evaluations of Reid's handling of the fiscal cliff are not overly positive -- 39% approve and 30% disapprove -- but they do give him a higher net-positive rating (+9) than Republicans give Boehner (+1). Democrats are also more likely to approve, and less likely to disapprove, of Democratic leaders in Congress than Republicans are to do the same of Republican leaders in Congress.

Democrats are most positive about Obama, with 81% approving, helping explain his more positive rating among all Americans.

Implications

Americans do not give any of the key players high marks for their handling of the fiscal cliff budget negotiations, although they are most charitable in their ratings of President Obama. To date, Americans' views on the fiscal cliff have been quite stable, perhaps understandable given the lack of clear progress toward a solution. With the Jan. 1 deadline looming, and government leaders perhaps wanting to reach an agreement before the Christmas holiday, pressure for action is likely to grow.

One thing has been clear throughout the negotiations: the vast majority of Americans -- including at least two in three Republicans, independents, and Democrats -- want government leaders to compromise to reach a solution.