Barack Obama

President Barack Obama’s popularity has transformed America’s image in Indonesia. However, the world’s largest predominantly Muslim country is an outlier in the Muslim world, where opinions of the U.S. remain mostly negative.

In a briefing for a congressional subcommittee, Andrew Kohut describes the rise of anti-Americanism over the last decade, its sharp decline after Obama’s election and the reasons why this improving trend may be fragile.

Summary of Findings Nine months ahead of the midterm elections, voters have conflicted attitudes about both political parties. Opinions of the Republican Party have improved significantly, and for the first time in years the GOP’s favorable ratings nearly equal the Democratic Party’s. Voting intentions for the fall elections also remain closely divided. However, the Democratic […]

Summary of Findings In the aftermath of the failed Christmas Day terrorist attack on a Detroit-bound airliner, the government’s ratings for reducing the threat of terrorism have slipped. In addition, 33% now say that the ability of terrorists to launch a major attack on the U.S. is greater than it was at the time of […]

His approval has slipped, but is not much different from where Reagan stood at this point in his term. But the public's conservative shift could be trouble for the president.

Overview Public opinion about President Barack Obama and his major polices continues to be divided as the year comes to a close. His overall approval rating is 49%, which is largely unchanged from November (51%). However, the percentage expressing at least a fair amount of confidence in Obama to do the right thing when it […]

While overall ratings for the U.S. have improved throughout much of the world, in Turkey they remain dismal. Still, there are modest signs of a potential for improvement.