Obama Job Approval Rating Drops Nine Points

New York, July 15, 2009 - The Diageo/Hotline Poll of 800 U.S. registered voters conducted by FD from July 9-13, 2009, finds that the percentage of American voters who approve of the job President Obama is doing has dropped nine points to 56%. The previous Diageo/ Hotline Poll, conducted from June 4-7, found that 65% of voters approved of the job he was doing.

Obama's Job Approval Ratings

With 56% of voters approving of the job he is doing, the Poll finds President Obama's job approval rating is at its lowest level recorded in the six monthly Diageo/Hotline Polls since President Obama took office.

President Obama's Job Approval Ratings - January - Present

Interestingly, compared to June, the decrease in Obama's job approval ratings is being driven primarily by decreases among male voters (-15 points), Independent voters (-15 points), and rural voters (-15 points).

President Obama's Job Approval Ratings among Males, Independent Voters and Rural Voters

Other Key Opinion Metrics Seeing Dips

The Poll also finds that the percentage of voters who say that "things are seriously off on the wrong track" has increased 12 percentage points from a record-low of 43% in last month's Poll to 55% in today's Poll.

Furthermore, recent shifts in the public's confidence in Obama to "bring real change to the way things are done in Washington, D.C." indicate a dip in confidence among voters. In the February Poll, a record-high of 70% of voters indicated that they were confident in Obama to bring real change, compared with 56% four months later in today's Poll. This current confidence rating of 56% also represents a nine-point percentage drop since the June Poll (65%).

Additionally, in looking ahead to 2012, the Poll finds that 42% of voters say they would vote to re-elect President Obama, while 39% say they would vote for someone else. The June Poll found that 46% of voters said they would vote to re-elect President Obama and 30% of voters would vote for someone else.

Decreasing Levels of Confidence in the Stimulus Package

The Diageo/Hotline Poll also finds a significant decrease in voter confidence in the stimulus plan passed in February. Specifically, the Poll finds only 39% of voters are confident the stimulus plan will be successful in turning around the economy, a decrease of 13 percentage points from the 52% of voters who expressed confidence in June.

Commenting on the connection between the drop in President Obama's job approval numbers and decreased confidence in the stimulus plan, Amy Walter, Editor-in-Chief of The Hotline noted that, "To revise the infamous Colin Powell ‘Pottery Barn' rule, President Obama didn't break the economy, but he now owns it."

Strong Opposition to Additional Stimulus and Quicker Recovery vs. More Debt

In the context of decreasing levels of confidence in the current stimulus package, coupled with discussion about the viability of another one, the Poll shows very little support for a proposal for another stimulus package, with only 36% saying they would support such a proposal and 52% saying they would oppose it, with 40% saying they would strongly oppose it.

At the same time, it is clear that concerns over the prospect of greater deficits trump concerns over economic recovery. When given the choice, voters would prefer a slower economic recovery that incurs smaller deficits than a quicker economic recovery with greater deficits. Specifically, 71% of voters say they would choose a slower economic recovery with a lower deficit, compared with 23% of voters who say they would prefer a quicker recovery with a higher deficit.

Congressional Ratings

A closer look at congressional ratings reveals that the approval ratings of both parties in Congress have suffered drops since the June Poll. Specifically, Congressional Democrats' approval ratings have dropped 8 percentage points from 49% in the June Poll to 41% in today's Poll. What's more, approval ratings of Republicans in Congress have decreased 9 percentage points from 38% in the June Poll to 29% in today's Poll.

Congressional Approval Ratings in June and July

Despite several shifts in public opinion since last month, the generic ballot between Democrats and Republicans in Congress has not experienced a notable change from recent past polls. The Democrats still lead Republicans in the generic ballot, with 39% of voters indicating that they would vote for the Democratic candidate and 32% for the Republican candidate, (compared with 39% and 30% in the June Poll, respectively).

To obtain complete Poll results, please see www.diageohotlinepoll.com.

To schedule an interview with Ed Reilly, contact Selin Kent at (212) 850-5735 or Selin.Kent@fd.com.

Methodology: The Diageo/Hotline Poll was conducted by telephone from July 9 - 13, 2009, among a random, representative sample of 800 registered voters, age 18 and older (margin of error +/- 3.5%).

About Diageo: Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines, and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines. Diageo is a global company, trading in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at Diageo.com. For our global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com. Celebrating life, every day, everywhere. For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com.

About The Hotline & National Journal Group: The Hotline is National Journal's daily briefing on politics. National Journal Group Inc. is a leading publisher of magazines, newsletters, books and directories for people who have a professional interest in politics, policy and government. Based in Washington, D.C., National Journal Group Inc. is committed to providing publications and services that are non-partisan, reliable and of the highest quality. www.nationaljournal.com

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