Rebecca Stewart: Obama approval plummets in NH

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/30/obama-approval-plummets-in-nh/?iref=storysearch

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CNN Political Producer Rachel Streitfeld

Manchester, New Hampshire (CNN) - Sixty-five percent of New Hampshire residents disapprove of President Obama's handling of the economy, according to a new poll.

The American Research Group's September 2011 Quarterly New Hampshire Poll also found the president's approval rating in the first-in-the-nation primary state is pegged at 31%.

Dante Scala, a political science professor at the University of New Hampshire, said the notable shift in Obama's support is among undeclared, or independent voters. Sixty-seven percent of undeclared voters in the state say they disapprove of how the president has handled the economy.

Even though New Hampshire's unemployment rate is much lower than the national figure, Scala said voters here are affected by rampant displeasure in the economy.

Obama lost New Hampshire's primary to Hillary Clinton in 2008 but triumphed over John McCain here with 54% in the general election. The state carries four electoral votes.

The American Research group poll was conducted by telephone from September 25-29, surveying 547 adults in New Hampshire. The sampling error was plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

–CNN's Rebecca Stewart contributed to this report.

Rebecca Stewart: CNN Poll: One in five say Social Security is unconstitutional

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/29/cnn-poll-one-in-five-say-social-security-is-unconstitutional/?iref=storysearch

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CNN Political Unit

(CNN) - Social Security reform has taken center stage in the 2012 presidential debate and one in five say the system is unconstitutional, but a new CNN/ORC International poll shows a majority of Americans have good feelings about the program.

Eight in 10 Americans think Social Security has been good for the country, with 70 percent of young adults agreeing and almost nine in 10 senior citizens saying the same.

Full results (pdf)

Though large majorities of both parties believe the 75-year-old program instituted by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt has been good, about one-third of all Republicans think it is unconstitutional.

The campaign trail has been flooded with proposals on how to reform Social Security, and while most candidates agree the system is secure for senior citizens, the big question is what will happen to young Americans who currently pay into the fund when they're ready to retire.

Most under 35 say Social Security has had no effect on their lives, but the number that say the system has been bad for them is roughly the same as the number that think it has benefitted them personally-18 to 20 percent.

The adults who agree that Social Security has been good for them personally rises with age - 85 percent of seniors say the system has benefitted them.

But Americans agree Social Security is facing a crisis or major problem. Almost one in five Americans say it is in a state of crisis and another half say it faces major problems.

Roughly half the nation supports one proposed solution, creating a private savings account that citizens could pay into - 52 percent favor allowing workers to invest part of their Social Security taxes in stocks or bonds and 46 percent oppose that change.

The CNN poll was conducted by ORC International by telephone from September 23-25, among 1,010 adult Americans. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

– CNN's Rebecca Stewart contributed to this report.