Poll: Obama's overall rating high

WASHINGTON, April 26 (UPI) -- Respondents to a national poll gave U.S. President Barack Obama solid marks for his handling of the economy and for keeping his campaign promises.

There was decidedly less support, however, for Obama's decision to release previously secret memos on the interrogation of terrorism suspects, A Washington Post-ABC News Poll released Sunday indicated.

Just more than half of the 1,072 people interviewed said they supported Obama's release of the memos, while a third strongly opposed the decision.

Obama's overall rating remained high, with 69 percent of those polled approving of his job performance, especially on the economy where he maintained more than a 2-to-1 advantage over congressional Republicans on the issue, the Post reported.

Public optimism about the country's direction remained on the rise, although few of those polled said they believed Obama's initiatives have energized their communities or their finances.

The telephone survey conducted April 21-April 24 had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.