Approval Rating

TRENTON - A majority of voters - 51 percent - in a Quinnipiac University Poll released Thursday said they approved of Gov. Christie's job performance, while 36 percent disapproved. In Quinnipiac's previous poll, issued in June, 44 percent said they approved of Christie and 43 percent disapproved. Fifty-one percent of respondents in the latest poll also described the first-term Republican as a "leader," while 43 percent called him a "bully. " And 46 percent said he was "confrontational," while 43 percent called him "honest and refreshing.

Mayor Nutter's job approval rating is up to 60 percent, the highest level in the last three years, but most city residents continue to describe crime, the state of the public schools, and lack of job opportunities as major problems that have improved little over the last five years. That's the conclusion of a new public opinion poll released Tuesday by the Pew Charitable Trusts, based on 1,600 telephone interviews with Philadelphia adults, from Jan. 4 through Jan. 19. Just one out of three people, 37 percent, said they felt completely safe in their homes at night, and fewer than one out of six, 16 percent, felt completely safe walking in their neighborhoods, the study found.

Ten days after allegations of sexual infidelity rocked the White House, public approval of President Clinton's job performance hit an all-time high this week as Americans appear to be gossiping, rather than worrying, about the accusations. The White House strategy to remain mum and allow Clinton to go about his business appears to be working - so far. Republicans, however, have begun to break their silence and go on the attack. Clinton has denied having sexual relations with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky and asking her to lie about it, but has declined to speak in detail about the accusations.

President Clinton had a big year on Capitol Hill in 1993, winning major victories on the issues he cared most about - trade, budget policy and gun control. Only Republican Dwight Eisenhower in 1953 and Democrat Lyndon Johnson in 1964 had better first-year records in Congress in the last four decades. But on Thursday, in the middle of his sophomore year, the President's political clout seemed to have deserted him - although the White House and its allies are predicting another Clinton comeback.

The groundwork was laid for what could have been an ugly day for a governor who has been having a lot of them lately. The audience awaiting Gov. McGreevey yesterday was about as potentially hostile as there is: New Jersey businesspeople who gave him an approval rating that barely poked into the double digits. They are people whose companies are feeling the pinch of a $1 billion corporate business tax increase this year. "Who raises taxes in the middle of a recession? Nobody.

The state legislature is suffering from dismal public-approval ratings, and three out of four Pennsylvania voters believe it will not take steps to clean up corruption in the wake of the Bonusgate scandal. Those are among the results of the latest Quinnipiac University poll, which also found that few voters - only one in 10 - believe that House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese (D., Greene) should keep his leadership post. "Voters are fed up with the legislature," said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Connecticut university's polling institute.

WASHINGTON - President Obama is enjoying a surge in public approval as he marks the midpoint of his first term, with independent voters who were instrumental to Republican victories in last year's congressional elections beginning to swing back to the president. An NBC News/ Wall Street Journal survey released Wednesday night showed Obama's job-approval rating at 53 percent, an 8-point jump from mid-December and his highest rating since July 2009. Surveys from CNN/Opinion Research and ABC News/ Washington Post also put Obama's approval rating above the 50 percent threshold.

Some offbeat statistics compiled by the staff of Harper's magazine: Percentage increase, during 1991, in the number of New Hampshire residents receiving food stamps: 47. Average attendance at the largest rally held by each Democratic candidate in New Hampshire last November: 350. Number of people who attended a Ralph Nader rally in Nashua, N.H., in November: 600. Number of times Bill Clinton used the term "middle class" in the...

NEW YORK CLINTON'S RATING CONTINUES TO SLIDE President Clinton's approval rating among Americans has fallen again, continuing a six-month slide, according to a survey released yesterday. The poll by Louis Harris and Associates found that only 40 percent of adults surveyed gave the president an "excellent" or "pretty good" approval rating, while 59 percent thought his job performance was "fair" or "poor. " The Harris group noted Clinton's approval rating is sliding despite an improvement in the economy.

DEAR religious conservatives: I sincerely hope you're not foolish enough to fall for Bush's sad attempt at getting Congress to ban gay marriage - again. Do you believe a president with a 29 percent approval rating will follow through with this? And is it a coincidence that Ken Lay is being sentenced on the 5th anniversy of 9/11? Hmmm. The country won't be paying as much attention to that as they will the anniversary. He was a big Bush supporter, after all. Joseph Timlin, Philadelphia

WASHINGTON - The first Gallup poll of the general-election campaign shows Mitt Romney edging out President Obama, a close result that both parties expect will be the case through much of the next seven months. The former Massachusetts governor, emerging from a difficult and longer-than-expected Republican-nomination battle, has the support of 47 percent of registered voters nationwide, while the president has 45 percent support. Two percent of voters said that they supported another candidate, while 7 percent were undecided.

HOUSTON - George W. Bush is as hard to find in his father's office as he is in the 2012 presidential contest. The 43d president appears in a gold-framed picture tucked into a far corner of the room, partially hidden by a Texas flag and a cabinet door. The placement, whether intentional or not, is a reminder of the Republican presidential campaign and the lengths to which former Massachusets Gov. Mitt Romney and his rivals have tried to marginalize the two-term president. The younger Bush was an afterthought Thursday as his father, former President George H.W. Bush, met with Romney - until a reporter raised the issue.

WASHINGTON - Congress on Friday overwhelmingly approved extending a payroll-tax cut for 160 million workers through the end of the year, probably the biggest accomplishment lawmakers will be able to savor in 2012. The rare bipartisan agreement, which also provides jobless benefits to the long-term unemployed and preserves Medicare payment rates to physicians, came without the hostility that has scarred economic debates since President Obama took office in January 2009. The House voted 293-132 to approve the plan.

A NEW POLL HOLDS good news and bad news for Mayor Nutter and Philadelphia in his second term. The Pew Charitable Trusts poll released yesterday showed that the approval rating for Nutter's job performance is on the rise, even as residents express growing concerns about crime, education and the economy. Nutter's approval rating increased to 60 percent, up from 52 percent in a Pew poll last year. That was helped by a 10-percentage-point increase in his approval rating among African-Americans, with whom his numbers have previously been less than stellar.

Mayor Nutter's job approval rating is up to 60 percent, the highest level in the last three years, but most city residents continue to describe crime, the state of the public schools, and lack of job opportunities as major problems that have improved little over the last five years. That's the conclusion of a new public opinion poll released Tuesday by the Pew Charitable Trusts, based on 1,600 telephone interviews with Philadelphia adults, from Jan. 4 through Jan. 19. Just one out of three people, 37 percent, said they felt completely safe in their homes at night, and fewer than one out of six, 16 percent, felt completely safe walking in their neighborhoods, the study found.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Occupy Wall Street protesters were upset over a lack of employment prospects and government actions that were "not relevant to their lives. " "I think they are angry that they don't have jobs," Pelosi (D., Calif.) told ABC News' This Week program, scheduled for broadcast Sunday. "There's nothing that makes you angrier than not being able to provide for your family or understand what your prospects are for the future. " Americans' pessimism about the economy helped send President Obama's approval rating to 38 percent last week, the lowest of his presidency.

I'VE KNOWN Tom Corbett since 1995, when Gov. Ridge appointed him to serve out the term of Attorney General Ernie Preate, who had to serve out a term of his own - in prison. Corbett held the post until January 1997, then won it electorally in 2004. I've interviewed him many times, watched him in lots of settings, moderated debates in which he took part, and talked on background over the years with his friends, allies and enemies to get a sense of who he is. I, and most folks with whom I've spoken, regard him as a genuinely decent guy (for a lawyer)

HARRISBURG - Women like him, men think he's doing a good job, Republicans overwhelmingly approve of his work - and so do some Democrats. In fact, according to the latest Quinnipiac poll, Gov. Corbett is growing more popular. The survey, released Thursday, found the first-term Republican got a 50 percent approval rating from respondents, with women in particular giving his popularity a sudden and striking surge. "He is doing profoundly better than other first-term Republican governors in swing states," including Govs.

Gov. Corbett is the most popular he's ever been - except when he was elected - getting a 50 percent approval rating from voters, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Thursday. Both female and male voters gave the first-term Republican better marks this time around, with women giving his popularity a significant surge. The majority of voters said they like the governor as a person - 53 to 12 percent - and Democrats were among them, saying they like him 39 to 19 percent, with 41 percent undecided.