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Poll: Americans feel good about Obama, Cabinet choices

By Susan Page, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON � President-elect Barack Obama is riding a wave of good
feeling toward him and his key Cabinet appointments, a USA
TODAY/Gallup Poll finds � positive attitudes that may give him some
breathing room for tough decisions ahead.

Soaring ratings for the way he has handled the presidential transition
so far � more than three of four Americans express approval � contrast
with a downbeat national mood over the economy.

By 69%-25%, those surveyed approve of Obama's choice of former rival
Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of State.

By an even wider margin, 80%-14%, they support his decision to have
President Bush's Defense secretary, Robert Gates, stay on the job.

MORE OBAMA NEWS: President-elect assures governors on economy
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Americans are "projecting their hopes" for the new president, says
Charles Franklin, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin
in Madison who studies polling, but they will expect concrete results
to follow.

"He'll have a season of good will," Franklin says, but over time "it's
going to become increasingly Obama's economy rather than Bush's
economy."

On Tuesday, Obama met with the nation's governors in Philadelphia �
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the GOP's vice presidential nominee in last
month's election, sat in a back row � and asked their help in
designing a recovery plan.

The National Bureau of Economic Research on Monday announced that the
U.S. economy has been in a recession for the past year.

In the poll, Americans by more than 3-1 say they trust Obama more than
Bush to handle the economy. By 58%-33%, they support Obama's promise
of a huge spending package to stimulate the economy.

The survey of 1,010 adults, taken Monday by landline and cellphone,
has a margin of error of +/� 3 percentage points.

There's little concern Obama is relying too much on veterans of
President Clinton's administration. By nearly 4-1, those polled say
the picks will make the new team more effective.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2008-12-02-obama-poll_N.htm