Poll: Obama won fiscal cliff debate

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Polling done since Congress and U.S. President Barack Obama reached a deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff shows Obama coming out on top.

This, despite the fact the Pew Center for the People and the Public said the nation remains split on its opinion of the legislation -- 38 percent approve of it; 41 percent do not.

When asked "Who got more of what they wanted in the legislation?" voters overwhelmingly said they think Obama was the winner. Fifty-seven percent thought Obama came out ahead in the deal, while just 20 percent thought the GOP did. Conservative voters were particularly sanguine, with 74 percent thinking the Democratic president bested congressional Republicans.

When asked whether or not they approved of how the two sides handled the dispute, just 14 percent of independent voters in the poll said they approved of the GOP's actions. Conversely, 41 percent of independents approved of Obama's role in the debate -- and 48 percent of respondents overall said the same.

Democrats overwhelmingly approved of Obama's job relating to the deal, which raised income taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Eighty-nine percent of self-identified Democrats approved of Obama's fiscal cliff job performance.

The Pew poll surveyed 1,003 people using landlines and cellphones Jan. 3-6. It has a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.