Approval Ratings: Obama 71%, Bush 34%

Barack Obama can seem to do little wrong in the eyes of the public. About 71% of Americans approve of his efforts in a new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll. The results, which show that just 14% disapprove of him, are largely unchanged from December. President Bush, by contrast, will leave office with a 34% approval rating, the lowest since Nixon, CBS reports. Bush's disapproval rating in the Gallup Poll is 61%.

The current president's numbers are actually improvements from his historic lows in the 20s. In the Journal poll, Americans were pessimistic about the economy. About 57% believe the recession will end one to three years from now, while just 4% think it's almost over. About 17% say it will last more than three years.
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