Daily Presidential Tracking Poll
Sunday, March 4, 2012
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 27% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-two percent (42%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -15 ( see trends ).
Check out our review of last week's key polls to see "What They Told Us."
Only 13% of Americans believe the United States should take a bigger role in helping Europe recover economically . Seventy percent (70%) say the United States should stay out of it. Most Americans (51%) believe Europe's problems stem from too much government spending. Just 28% believe the downturn in the world economy is the chief factor in Europe's financial problems. Another 21% are not sure.
In a hypothetical 2012 matchup, the president leads Mitt Romney 47% to 43%. If Rick Santorum is the Republican nominee, the president leads by the same margin, 47% to 43%. Matchup results are updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update ). See tracking history for Obama vs. all four Republican candidates.
In Tennessee , Rick Santorum is clinging to a 4-point lead heading into the state's Super Tuesday GOP Primary. In Ohio, perhaps the biggest of the Super Tuesday prizes, Romney has pulled to within two points of Santorum. Two weeks ago, it was Santorum by 18. Nationally, Romney now leads Santorum 40% to 24% . In Georgia, native son Newt Gingrich leads, with Romney in second.
Overall, 46% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's job performance. Fifty-three percent (53%) at least somewhat disapprove.
Scott Rasmussen's weekly syndicated column looks at why politicians can't connect with the middle class.
Seventy-nine percent (79%) of voters think members of Congress typically leave office wealthier than when they were first elected. Seventy-two percent (72%) favor a ban on all stock trading and investing by members of Congress while they are in office .
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In the Massachusetts Senate race , Republican Scott Brown has a five-point advantage over Democrat Elizabeth Warren.
Ten percent (10%) now say Congress is doing a good or an excellent job , their best numbers in a year. Still, 68% don't think the legislators have done anything in the past year to significantly improve life in America.
Just 27% believe that government efforts to manage the economy actually help the economy. Fifty percent (50%) believe the government efforts do more harm than good . Upper income Americans are evenly divided on the question. Middle income Americans strongly believe that government attempts to run the economy end up hurting the economy.
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It is important to remember that the Rasmussen Reports job approval ratings are based upon a sample of likely voters. Some other firms base their approval ratings on samples of all adults. Obama's numbers are almost always several points higher in a poll of adults rather than likely voters. That's because some of the president's most enthusiastic supporters, such as young adults, are less likely to turn out to vote. It is also important to check the details of question wording when comparing approval ratings from different firms.
Rasmussen Reports has been a pioneer in the use of automated telephone polling techniques, but many other firms still utilize their own operator-assisted technology ( see methodology ). Pollsters for Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have cited our " unchallenged record for both integrity and accuracy ."
Learn more about the Rasmussen Reports track record over the years .
Daily tracking results are collected via telephone surveys of 500 likely voters per night and reported on a three-day rolling average basis. To reach those who have abandoned traditional landline telephones, Rasmussen Reports uses an online survey tool to interview randomly selected participants from a demographically diverse panel. The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 1,500 Likely Voters is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Results are also compiled on a full-week basis and crosstabs for full-week results are available for Platinum Members .
Like all polling firms, Rasmussen Reports weights its data to reflect the population at large ( see methodology ). Among other targets, Rasmussen Reports weights data by political party affiliation using a dynamic weighting process. While partisan affiliation is generally quite stable over time, there are a fair number of people who waver between allegiance to a particular party or independent status. Our baseline targets are established based upon separate survey interviews with a sample of adults nationwide completed during the preceding three months (a total of 45,000 interviews) and targets are updated monthly. Currently, the baseline targets for the adult population are 35.8% Republicans, 32.5% Democrats, and 31.7% unaffiliated. Likely voter samples typically show a slightly larger advantage for the Republicans.
A review of last week's key polls is posted each Saturday morning.
To get a sense of longer-term trends, check out our month-by-month review of the president's numbers.