President Obama is Still Pretty Popular

Some would think or maybe hope that President Obama's favorability numbers would be low right now. Those people would be wrong. According to the Washington Post, nearly 6 in 10 people still really like the President.

Fifty-seven percent of people view Obama favorably in the new Post-ABC survey while 41 percent regard him unfavorably. Those numbers are remarkably similar to the 60 percent favorable/37 percent unfavorable ratings for Obama in Post-ABC polling conducted in late January — just weeks after the president had been inaugurated for a second term.

The high regard with which the public holds Obama personally stands in contrast to the more middling job ratings for the president.  In the latest Post-ABC national poll – conducted earlier this month — 50 percent approved of how he was handling his job while 46 percent disapproved.

That discrepancy isn’t new for Obama. Throughout his presidency, his personal favorable numbers have far outstripped his job approval ratings. In short: People like him (and his image as a father and husband) more than they like his policies. That likability factor shouldn’t be undersold, however, as it played a central role in Obama winning a second term despite a scuffling economy and negative ratings for his efforts to fix it.

It really is amazing how the President can come away with such high numbers even when people can't stand what he is doing. It's like the public forgives his terrible policies because he seems like a nice guy. Is the public being fooled by Obama? It appears as though the answer is yes.