Poll indicates drop in stimulus approval

NEW YORK, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Public support for U.S. President Barack Obama's proposed economic stimulus package has fallen 12 points since January, a CBS News poll indicated Friday.

Slightly more than half the country now approves the multi-billion-dollar proposal, the survey found, and nearly half of those who responded do not believe it will shorten the recession.

Fifty-one percent of those surveyed support the more than $800 billion stimulus package, while 39 percent do not, the poll said. Last month, 63 percent supported the package and 24 percent opposed it.

Obama's job approval rating stands at 62 percent, while the overall approval rating of Congress is 26 percent.

Nearly all respondents contacted, 94 percent, think the U.S. economy is in bad shape. That's the highest number in the more than two decades CBS News has been asking the question.

Only 5 percent, an all-time low, say the economy is good. Fifty-one percent say the economy is getting worse.

The poll was conducted among a random sample of 864 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone February 2-4, 2009. The survey's margin or error was plus or minus three percentage points.