The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll Wednesday revealed 71 percent of those surveyed said they approve the way Obama is handling the transition period. Fourteen percent said they don't. That's pretty much the way it shaped up last month when the two news organizations polled Americans.

Those same poll respondents aren't so hot on the U.S. economy. Fifty-seven percent now believe the economic recession will drag on anywhere from one to three years more, the poll indicates. Seventeen percent said they think it could even linger longer, while just 4 percent said they believe it is "almost over" or will be within six months and 20 percent said it will be over within a year.

The survey of 1,007 adults was conducted Jan. 9-12 and has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points