Mass. poll: Obama more popular than policies

A new poll out tonight of Massachusetts voters echoes national surveys: President Obama is more personally popular than some of his policies.

The Suffolk University/7 News poll gave Obama an overall job approval rating of 66 percent, 67 percent said he made them "proud to be an American," and 56 percent approved of how he is handling the economy, though 61 percent opposed the bailouts of banks and automakers.

The survey also found that 68 percent believe that Obama is setting the right priorities as he expands Washington's role, though 54 percent say they prefer a smaller government providing fewer services.

Also, 54 percent of respondents said the president is bringing the change he promised during the campaign, 53 percent said he is doing enough to cooperate with congressional Republicans, and 50 percent said his programs are "just about right" and not too liberal or conservative.

On foreign policy, which was a weaker area for Obama during the campaign, 61 percent approve of his handling, 69 percent say he has improved the country's image abroad, and 91 percent supported his authorizing US Navy snipers to kill Somali pirates holding a Vermont ship captain hostage.

"Statistically, it doesn't get much better for an elected official than it is for Barack Obama today," David Paleologos, director of Suffolk's Political Research Center, said in a statement. "Whether one looks at popularity, performance, the economy, or foreign policy, Obama has touched all the bases in this poll."

Still, there are some alarms on the horizon. Despite Obama's actions to stem the worst recession in decades, 69 percent of voters said they believe the standard of living for the next generation will be the same or worse.

And Obama isn't quite as popular as first lady Michelle Obama (70 percent) or Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (68 percent), who bested Obama in the Bay State's Democratic primary last year.

The survey, conducted Friday through Monday, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

(For the full Suffolk press release, click here.)