Obama 62% Approval Nationally, Less in Colorado

The Real Politics national polling average has President Obama with a 62 percent approval average after 100 days. Given his inexperience, the crisis he began with and the aggressiveness of his agenda, it’s been an amazing performance.

A recent poll in Colorado by Public Policy Polling (PPP), a robo-calling Democratic outfit from North Carolina, has Obama at only 49 percent approval in Colorado. The major difference compared to national polls is the weak showing with unaffiliated voters (48%), who make up a quarter of the Colorado electorate, with Republicans and Democrats in a close balance of about a third of the voters each.

Colorado Democratic officeholders worry about Obama’s spending and government-growing agenda. Bennet, for example, joined Mark Udall to take the lead in opposing parts of the stimulus bill. On a variety of issues, Bennet, who is in a vulnerable position in his first election after being appointed by Gov. Ritter to Ken Salazar’s seat, is trying to position himself as middle-of-the-road. In general, Colorado federal candidates are tied to Obama’s fortunes, especially the economy.


Note the most recent national PPP poll was several points below the approval mean for Obama. PPP asks a somewhat different approval question, uses lists of registered voters, and, of course, is an automated dialing pollster. But even if PPP numbers are too conservative, adding five points to Obama’s approval rating would still leave his Colorado numbers low.