Interviewing: November 5-8, 2011

Sample: 1000 Adults nationwide online

715 registered voters nationwide online
806 D Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
Contact:
Thomas Riehle
Ph: (202) 544-2550

The Economist/YouGov Poll

2011 Weekly Tracking
For immediate release

The Economist/YouGov Poll

November 5-8, 2011
1. Approval of Obama as President Historical
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President?
All Adults

November 5-8, 2011

October 29-November 1, 2011
October 22-25, 2011
October 15-18, 2011
October 8-11, 2011
October 1-4, 2011
September 24-27, 2011
September 17-20, 2011
September 10-13, 2011
September 3-6, 2011
July 23-26, 2011
One Year Ago

Total
Approve

Total
Disapprove

Strongly
Approve

Somewhat
Approve

Somewhat
Disapprove

Strongly
Disapprove

Not
Sure

42%
41%
42%
38%
39%
39%
39%
36%
40%
39%
42%
42%

52%
52%
49%
53%
53%
53%
53%
56%
53%
53%
48%
49%

14%
16%
16%
14%
14%
14%
14%
14%
14%
12%
16%
18%

28%
25%
26%
24%
25%
25%
25%
22%
26%
27%
26%
24%

15%
15%
14%
15%
12%
17%
15%
16%
15%
17%
14%
13%

37%
37%
35%
38%
41%
36%
38%
40%
38%
36%
34%
36%

7%
8%
9%
8%
8%
8%
8%
9%
7%
8%
10%
9%

Registered Voters

November 5-8, 2011

October 29-November 1, 2011
October 22-25, 2011
October 15-18, 2011
October 8-11, 2011
October 1-4, 2011
September 24-27, 2011
September 17-20, 2011
September 10-13, 2011
September 3-6, 2011
July 23-26, 2011
One Year Ago

Total
Approve

Total
Disapprove

Strongly
Approve

Somewhat
Approve

Somewhat
Disapprove

Strongly
Disapprove

Not
Sure

44%
44%
44%
42%
44%
43%
41%
38%
42%
41%
44%
45%

53%
52%
53%
54%
53%
53%
57%
58%
56%
56%
52%
52%

18%
19%
18%
17%
18%
17%
15%
16%
16%
15%
17%
21%

26%
25%
26%
25%
26%
26%
26%
22%
26%
26%
27%
24%

15%
13%
12%
11%
10%
14%
15%
14%
13%
15%
12%
11%

38%
39%
41%
43%
43%
39%
42%
44%
43%
41%
40%
41%

3%
4%
3%
4%
4%
4%
2%
3%
3%
3%
4%
4%

The Economist/YouGov Poll

November 5-8, 2011

Obama Approval

"Do you approve or disapprove of the way

Barack Obama is handling his job as President?"
70
Disapprove: 52%
Percent of Respondents

60
50
40
30

Approve: 42%

20
10
2009

2010

2011

Figure 1: Obama Approval All Adults

The Economist/YouGov Poll

November 5-8, 2011

Obama Approval

"Do you approve or disapprove of the way

Barack Obama is handling his job as President?"
70
Percent of Registered Voters

Disapprove: 53%
60
50
40
Approve: 44%

30
20
10
2009

2010

2011

Figure 2: Obama Approval Registered Voters

The Economist/YouGov Poll

November 5-8, 2011

2. Approval of Obama as President This Week

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President?
Age
Total
Strongly Approve
Somewhat
Approve
Somewhat
Disapprove
Strongly
Disapprove
Not Sure
Totals
(Unweighted)

18-29

30-64

Race
65+

White

Totals
(Unweighted)

Hispanic

Male

Female

Education
HS or Less

Some College

College Grad

13.6%

8.1%

13.7%

19.8%

10.3%

55.4%

5.5%

9.6%

17.3%

11.6%

13.9%

17.7%

28.4%

41.5%

27.9%

14.4%

28.3%

26.0%

31.7%

26.0%

30.6%

26.1%

30.0%

31.4%

14.7%

24.2%

12.5%

10.3%

12.1%

18.6%

36.9%

15.0%

14.4%

16.5%

11.5%

14.7%

36.8%
6.6%

18.7%
7.5%

38.9%
6.9%

50.9%
4.5%

42.4%
7.0%

16.7%
9.1%

45.3%
4.1%

29.0%
8.8%

38.7%
7.2%

34.0%
10.6%

35.8%
0.4%

100.0%
(508)

100.0%
(88)

100.0%
(331)

100.0%
(89)

100.0%
(418)

100.0%
(43)

100.0%
(230)

100.0%
(278)

100.0%
(220)

100.0%
(153)

100.0%
(135)

Party ID

Strongly Approve
Somewhat
Approve
Somewhat
Disapprove
Strongly
Disapprove
Not Sure

Black

Gender

Total

Dem

13.6%

28.7%

28.4%

Rep

100.0%
(47)

Ideology

Region
Con

Northeast

Midwest

Family Income

Ind

Lib

Mod

South

3.2%

9.7%

28.6%

15.5%

5.6%

5.6%

19.5%

16.5%

39.2%

10.9%

29.2%

49.0%

34.5%

16.9%

36.3%

17.5%

14.7%

12.7%

10.6%

20.5%

14.7%

17.9%

12.5%

17.6%

36.8%
6.6%

15.8%
3.5%

72.2%
3.1%

37.2%
3.4%

4.4%
3.2%

26.8%
5.2%

64.9%

100.0%
(508)

100.0%
(183)

100.0%
(122)

100.0%
(144)

100.0%
(110)

100.0%
(185)

100.0%
(143)

West

Under 40

40-100

100+

11.4%

13.2%

13.8%

14.7%

23.0%

38.6%

29.9%

25.3%

36.6%

19.3%

14.1%

8.9%

16.5%

15.0%

8.1%

28.0%
12.5%

36.9%
6.8%

44.5%
1.8%

33.0%
8.0%

32.1%
8.3%

40.0%
5.9%

37.1%
3.4%

100.0%
(95)

100.0%
(111)

100.0%
(189)

100.0%
(113)

100.0%
(208)

100.0%
(186)

100.0%
(71)

The Economist/YouGov Poll

November 5-8, 2011
3. Approval of U.S. Congress Historical
Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the way that the United States Congress is handling its job?
All Adults

November 5-8, 2011

October 29-November 1, 2011
October 22-25, 2011
October 15-18, 2011
October 8-11, 2011
October 1-4, 2011
September 24-27, 2011
September 17-20, 2011
September 10-13, 2011
September 3-6, 2011
July 23-26, 2011
One Year Ago

Total
Approve

Total
Disapprove

Strongly
Approve

Somewhat
Approve

Neutral

Somewhat
Disapprove

Strongly
Disapprove

Not
Sure

10%
9%
8%
7%
7%
8%
7%
11%
9%
9%
13%
11%

65%
68%
67%
68%
71%
69%
70%
65%
69%
69%
63%
66%

1%
2%
1%
1%
2%
1%
1%
2%
1%
2%
3%
2%

9%
7%
7%
6%
5%
7%
6%
9%
8%
7%
10%
9%

16%
11%
14%
16%
11%
16%
13%
16%
12%
15%
14%
14%

22%
22%
24%
24%
22%
24%
23%
21%
22%
24%
26%
26%

43%
46%
43%
44%
49%
45%
47%
44%
47%
45%
37%
40%

10%
12%
10%
9%
11%
8%
9%
9%
10%
8%
9%
9%

Registered Voters

November 5-8, 2011

October 29-November 1, 2011
October 22-25, 2011
October 15-18, 2011
October 8-11, 2011
October 1-4, 2011
September 24-27, 2011
September 17-20, 2011
September 10-13, 2011
September 3-6, 2011
July 23-26, 2011
One Year Ago

Total
Approve

Total
Disapprove

Strongly
Approve

Somewhat
Approve

Neutral

Somewhat
Disapprove

Strongly
Disapprove

Not
Sure

10%
8%
10%
8%
8%
9%
10%
12%
10%
8%
12%
11%

72%
76%
75%
75%
79%
74%
75%
71%
77%
76%
70%
73%

2%
2%
1%
1%
3%
1%
2%
2%
1%
2%
1%
2%

8%
6%
9%
7%
5%
8%
8%
10%
9%
6%
11%
9%

13%
10%
10%
11%
8%
12%
11%
12%
10%
12%
14%
12%

25%
24%
24%
26%
25%
23%
24%
22%
23%
25%
29%
26%

47%
52%
51%
49%
54%
51%
51%
49%
54%
51%
41%
47%

6%
6%
5%
5%
6%
4%
4%
5%
4%
5%
5%
4%

The Economist/YouGov Poll

November 5-8, 2011

Congress Approval

"Do you approve of the way the

U.S. Congress is handling its job?"
Disapprove: 65%

80

Percent of Respondents

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Approve: 10%

0
2009

2010

2011

Figure 3: Congress Approval All Adults

The Economist/YouGov Poll

November 5-8, 2011

Congress Approval

"Do you approve of the way the

U.S. Congress is handling its job?"
90

Disapprove: 72%

Percent of Registered Voters

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Approve: 10%

0
2009

2010

2011

Figure 4: Congress Approval Registered Voters

The Economist/YouGov Poll

November 5-8, 2011

4. Approval of U.S. Congress This Week

Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the way that the United States Congress is handling its job?
Age
Total
Strongly approve
Somewhat
approve
Neither approve
nor disapprove
Somewhat
disapprove
Strongly
disapprove
Not sure
Totals
(Unweighted)

18-29

30-64

Race
65+

White

Female

HS or Less

Some College

College Grad

1.6%

1.2%

0.8%

1.9%

1.8%

13.0%

8.6%

8.7%

8.9%

11.3%

7.0%

6.2%

15.6%

14.0%

17.8%

14.1%

17.0%

19.9%

12.2%

11.6%

18.5%

21.6%

17.6%

27.8%

19.4%

23.7%

17.5%

25.7%

24.7%

44.3%
8.3%

54.7%
2.6%

42.9%
10.2%

44.7%
8.5%

37.4%
8.4%

51.3%
4.9%

35.0%
14.4%

37.3%
13.1%

43.4%
9.8%

51.7%
4.1%

100.0%
(673)

100.0%
(151)

100.0%
(820)

100.0%
(99)

100.0%
(77)

100.0%
(448)

100.0%
(548)

100.0%
(410)

100.0%
(312)

100.0%
(274)

1.3%

1.5%

1.4%

2.2%

8.8%

4.3%

9.9%

10.8%

8.3%

15.6%

21.8%

14.4%

12.0%

21.7%

23.7%

21.8%

42.7%
9.9%

29.0%
20.0%

100.0%
(996)

100.0%
(172)

Dem

Male

Education

1.3%

Total

Totals
(Unweighted)

Hispanic

1.3%

Party ID

Strongly approve
Somewhat
approve
Neither approve
nor disapprove
Somewhat
disapprove
Strongly
disapprove
Not sure

Black

Gender

Rep

Ideology
Ind

Lib

Mod

Region
Con

Northeast

Midwest

Family Income
South

West

Under 40

40-100

100+

1.3%

2.1%

1.9%

0.8%

1.7%

1.4%

1.9%

1.6%

0.8%

0.8%

2.4%

0.5%

2.7%

0.4%

8.8%

9.0%

9.1%

10.5%

3.8%

10.0%

14.1%

17.5%

8.3%

5.6%

6.9%

10.7%

9.7%

5.3%

15.6%

13.3%

22.2%

12.5%

10.1%

14.3%

17.3%

20.3%

12.7%

18.4%

10.0%

16.4%

16.0%

10.8%

21.7%

19.7%

27.6%

20.3%

22.4%

21.6%

26.2%

19.6%

25.9%

18.8%

23.9%

20.7%

20.9%

22.5%

42.7%
9.9%

48.1%
7.8%

33.9%
5.2%

51.8%
4.1%

56.6%
5.5%

47.5%
5.2%

36.6%
3.9%

31.0%
10.1%

45.8%
6.5%

47.0%
9.3%

43.2%
13.6%

42.0%
9.6%

42.7%
8.0%

59.1%
1.9%

100.0%
(996)

100.0%
(336)

100.0%
(243)

100.0%
(308)

100.0%
(203)

100.0%
(373)

100.0%
(291)

100.0%
(184)

100.0%
(226)

100.0%
(366)

100.0%
(220)

100.0%
(399)

100.0%
(366)

100.0%
(138)

The Economist/YouGov Poll

November 5-8, 2011
7. Direction of country Historical
Would you say things in this country today are...
All Adults

November 5-8, 2011

October 29-November 1, 2011
October 22-25, 2011
October 15-18, 2011
October 8-11, 2011
October 1-4, 2011
September 24-27, 2011
September 17-20, 2011
September 10-13, 2011
September 3-6, 2011
July 23-26, 2011
One Year Ago

Right
Track

Wrong
Direction

Not
Sure

15%
13%
17%
14%
13%
15%
12%
14%
12%
15%
16%
29%

72%
71%
68%
72%
72%
70%
72%
72%
73%
70%
70%
57%

13%
16%
15%
14%
15%
14%
15%
15%
15%
15%
15%
15%

Registered Voters

November 5-8, 2011

October 29-November 1, 2011
October 22-25, 2011
October 15-18, 2011
October 8-11, 2011
October 1-4, 2011
September 24-27, 2011
September 17-20, 2011
September 10-13, 2011
September 3-6, 2011
July 23-26, 2011
One Year Ago

Right
Track

Wrong
Direction

Not
Sure

15%
16%
18%
16%
15%
16%
12%
14%
13%
15%
14%
30%

74%
73%
70%
72%
72%
73%
76%
76%
77%
73%
73%
60%

10%
11%
12%
12%
13%
10%
12%
10%
10%
12%
13%
10%

10

The Economist/YouGov Poll

November 5-8, 2011

Direction of Country

"Would you say things in this country today are

generally headed in the right direction
or off on the wrong track?"
Wrong: 72%

80

Percent of Respondents

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Right: 15%

0
2009

2010

2011

Figure 5: Direction of Country All Adults

11

The Economist/YouGov Poll

November 5-8, 2011

Direction of Country

"Would you say things in this country today are

generally headed in the right direction
or off on the wrong track?"
90

Wrong: 74%

Percent of Registered Voters

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Right: 15%

0
2009

2010

2011

Figure 6: Direction of Country Registered Voters

12

The Economist/YouGov Poll

November 5-8, 2011

8. Direction of Country This Week

Would you say things in this country today are...
Age
Total
Generally
headed in the
right direction
Off on the wrong
track
Not sure
Totals
(Unweighted)

18-29

30-64

Race
65+

White

Totals
(Unweighted)

Hispanic

Male

Female

Education
HS or Less

Some College

College Grad

14.9%

14.3%

15.0%

15.0%

11.9%

39.4%

14.5%

14.6%

15.1%

16.3%

15.3%

11.7%

72.4%
12.8%

63.3%
22.4%

75.4%
9.6%

72.9%
12.1%

75.8%
12.3%

45.0%
15.6%

71.0%
14.5%

76.2%
9.2%

69.0%
16.0%

71.8%
12.0%

72.0%
12.7%

73.9%
14.3%

100.0%
(998)

100.0%
(172)

100.0%
(674)

100.0%
(152)

100.0%
(822)

100.0%
(99)

100.0%
(77)

100.0%
(449)

100.0%
(549)

100.0%
(412)

100.0%
(312)

100.0%
(274)

Party ID

Generally
headed in the
right direction
Off on the wrong
track
Not sure

Black

Gender

Total

Dem

14.9%

30.7%

72.4%
12.8%
100.0%
(998)

Rep

Ideology

Region
Con

Northeast

Midwest

Family Income

Ind

Lib

Mod

South

3.5%

10.6%

21.6%

20.9%

8.3%

14.5%

13.7%

17.1%

53.0%
16.3%

92.4%
4.2%

77.9%
11.5%

59.4%
19.0%

67.2%
11.9%

87.6%
4.1%

70.8%
14.7%

71.7%
14.6%

100.0%
(336)

100.0%
(244)

100.0%
(309)

100.0%
(203)

100.0%
(375)

100.0%
(291)

100.0%
(184)

100.0%
(226)

West

Under 40

40-100

100+

12.7%

14.1%

13.6%

20.1%

71.5%
11.3%

75.5%
11.7%

71.6%
14.3%

73.9%
12.4%

71.4%
8.5%

100.0%
(368)

100.0%
(220)

100.0%
(400)

100.0%
(367)

100.0%
(138)

13

The Economist/YouGov Poll

November 5-8, 2011
7. Congressional Vote Intention Historical
If an election for U.S. Congress were being held today, who would you vote for in the district where you live?
Registered Voters

November 5-8, 2011

October 29-November 1, 2011
October 22-25, 2011
October 15-18, 2011
October 8-11, 2011
October 1-4, 2011
September 24-27, 2011
September 17-20, 2011
September 10-13, 2011
September 3-6, 2011

The Democratic
Party candidate

The Republican
Party candidate

Other

Not sure

I would not vote

41%
39%
40%
41%
40%
40%
38%
40%
41%
45%

39%
36%
39%
37%
38%
38%
39%
41%
38%
36%

1%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
4%
3%
2%
2%

17%
19%
17%
17%
17%
18%
16%
13%
18%
15%

3%
4%
3%
3%
2%
2%
3%
3%
1%
3%

14

The Economist/YouGov Poll

November 5-8, 2011

2012 Congressional Vote Intention

"If an election for U.S. Congress were being held today,

who would you vote for in the district where you live?"

Percent of Registered Voters

50

Democratic candidate: 41%

40

Republican candidate: 39%

30
August
2011

September
2011

October
2011

November
2011

Figure 7: Congressional Vote Intention Registered Voters

15

The Economist/YouGov Poll

November 5-8, 2011

10. Congressional Vote Intention This Week

If an election for U.S. Congress were being held today, who would you vote for in the district where you live?
Asked of registered voters

Age
Total
The Democratic
Party candidate
The Republican
Party candidate
Other
Not sure
I would not vote
Totals
(Unweighted)

18-29

30-64

Race
65+

White

Totals
(Unweighted)

Hispanic

Male

Female

Education
HS or Less

Some College

College Grad

40.6%

41.3%

40.9%

39.0%

34.4%

73.9%

55.1%

38.4%

42.5%

36.4%

41.5%

44.6%

38.7%
1.5%
16.6%
2.6%

35.6%
2.3%
15.6%
5.3%

38.8%
1.2%
16.7%
2.4%

40.9%
1.7%
17.2%
1.1%

44.0%
1.8%
17.8%
1.9%

10.3%

7.2%
8.6%

25.5%

18.5%
0.9%

42.7%
2.4%
14.3%
2.2%

35.2%
0.7%
18.6%
3.0%

41.6%
0.2%
18.4%
3.4%

36.0%
3.5%
16.6%
2.4%

37.9%
1.0%
14.7%
1.9%

100.0%
(828)

100.0%
(125)

100.0%
(562)

100.0%
(141)

100.0%
(670)

100.0%
(93)

100.0%
(65)

100.0%
(398)

100.0%
(430)

100.0%
(299)

100.0%
(268)

100.0%
(261)

Party ID

The Democratic
Party candidate
The Republican
Party candidate
Other
Not sure
I would not vote

Black

Gender

Total

Dem

40.6%

81.9%

38.7%
1.5%
16.6%
2.6%
100.0%
(828)

Rep

Ideology

Region
Con

Northeast

Midwest

Family Income

Ind

Lib

Mod

South

1.8%

33.7%

89.1%

49.5%

9.5%

44.7%

42.0%

39.5%

5.4%

8.9%
3.8%

88.7%
1.5%
7.7%
0.3%

37.0%
2.6%
24.3%
2.4%

2.0%
0.7%
7.4%
0.9%

26.1%
2.1%
19.8%
2.4%

79.4%
1.5%
9.5%

35.3%
1.6%
14.0%
4.4%

36.6%
1.8%
18.5%
1.0%

100.0%
(297)

100.0%
(219)

100.0%
(262)

100.0%
(174)

100.0%
(327)

100.0%
(263)

100.0%
(152)

100.0%
(195)

West

Under 40

40-100

100+

37.3%

42.1%

38.2%

40.3%

40.7%
1.3%
16.0%
2.5%

40.7%
1.2%
17.8%
3.0%

32.9%
1.3%
19.6%
4.0%

42.0%
1.8%
16.4%
1.6%

45.1%
1.2%
12.0%
1.4%

100.0%
(297)

100.0%
(184)

100.0%
(297)

100.0%
(325)

100.0%
(130)

16

The Economist/YouGov Poll

November 5-8, 2011
Sponsorship

The Economist

Fieldwork

YouGov

Interviewing Dates

November 5-8, 2011

Target population

U.S. citizens, aged 18 and over.

Sampling method

Respondents were selected from YouGovs PollingPoint panel using

sample matching. A random sample (stratified by age, gender, race,
education, and region) was selected from the 20052007 American
Community Study. Voter registration, turnout, religion, news interest,
minor party identification, and non-placement on an ideology scale,
were imputed from the 2008 Current Population Survey Registration
and Voting Supplement and the Pew Religion in American Life Survey.
Matching respondents were selected from the PollingPoint panel, an
opt-in Internet panel.

Weighting

The sample was weighted using propensity scores based on age,

gender, race, education, news interest, voter registration, and nonplacement on an ideology scale. The weights range from 0.49 to 6.25,
with a mean of one and a standard deviation of 0.8.

Number of respondents

1,000

Margin of error

4% (adjusted for weighting)

Margin of error (Registered Voters)

4.4% (adjusted for weighting)

Survey mode

Web-based interviews

Full results

Available online at

http://today.yougov.com/news/categories/economist/.

17