These results are from a special one night USA Today/Gallup poll conducted July 27, as Speaker Boehner was marshaling support for Thursday's House vote on his version of a new budget plan.
President Obama's 41% approval rating on handling the situation is 10 percentage points higher than Boehner's and 18 points higher than Reid's. However, more Americans have an opinion about Obama's handling of the situation than is the case for the other two men, so when those with no opinion are factored out of the results, Obama's advantage is lessened. Among those with an opinion about his handling of the situation, the president has 44% approval and 56% disapproval, compared with 39% and 61% for Boehner and 31% and 69% for Reid.
Democrats More Loyal to Obama Than Republicans Are to Boehner
One notable challenge for Speaker Boehner is rank-and-file Republicans' relatively low level of support for his handling of the situation. Half of Republicans approve of Boehner's handling of the debt crisis, compared with 75% of Democrats who approve of Obama's handling. Reid does worst of all among rank-and-file identifiers with his own party, receiving 36% approval among Democrats (36% of Democrats also disapprove of Reid's handling the situation, with the remainder not having an opinion).
Independents will be a critically important group in next year's presidential election. At this point, a little more than a third of independents approve of how Obama is handling the debt situation, slightly more than approve of Boehner's handling.
A Third of Tea Party Supporters Disapprove of Boehner's Handling of Situation
Tea Party supporters have been among the most vocal participants in the current debt crisis debate. Many observers suggest that the pressure Tea Partiers are putting on newly elected freshman Republican House members is a reason the parties have not been able to strike a debt agreement so far. House Speaker Boehner is attempting to broker a deal to get the debt ceiling raised while at the same time reflecting the intense sentiments of Tea Party followers.
Boehner does slightly better among all Tea Party supporters -- 61% approval and 33% disapproval -- than he does among all Republicans -- 50% approval and 35% disapproval. These differences reflect the fact that in this survey, less than half (46%) of Republicans identify as Tea Party supporters, and that this group has a much different view of Boehner's efforts on the debt situation than those who are not Tea Party supporters. Republicans who support the Tea Party approve of Boehner's handling of the debt situation by 65% to 30%, while Republicans who are not Tea Party supporters split evenly, 38% approve and 40% disapprove, with the rest having no opinion. This difference is significant despite the smaller sample sizes involved, and suggests that Boehner is having more trouble pleasing the moderate and liberal wing of his party than he is the conservative wing.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/148718/Obama-Rates-Higher-Boehner-Reid-Debt-Situation.aspx
DO SOMETHING!
| 
