Poll: Obama's stimulus work rates high

PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. public strongly approves of how President Barack Obama is handling efforts to pass a stimulus package but not so for Congress, poll results indicate.

Obama has a 67 percent approval rating for the way in which he is addressing government's efforts to pass a bill, while Democrats and Republicans in Congress earned approval ratings of 48 percent and 31 percent, respectively, results from a Gallup poll released Monday indicated.

Recent polling also indicated a slight majority of Americans asked generally favor passing a stimulus plan of around $800 billion, a sentiment Gallup said remained constant over the last several weeks.

Obama's overall job approval rating -- 64 percent as of Sunday -- is close to his approval rating on the stimulus, while Gallup's last measure of favorable ratings for the Republicans in Congress in December was 25 percent, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency reported.

Results are based on nation telephone interviews with 1,018 adults conducted Friday and Saturday. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.