Obama is personally more popular than his policies: poll

Barack Obama is personally more popular than his policies, a new poll said today as the first black-American US President completes his first 100 days in the White House this week.       

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. Poll also indicates that 63 per cent of Americans approve of how the 47-year-old Obama is handling his duties as president. One in three questioned in the poll disapprove his actions.       

The survey, released two days before Obama marks 100 days in office on April 29, indicates that three in four Americans feel Obama has the personal qualities a president should have. But when asked whether Obama agrees with the respondent on the issues, that number drops to 57 per cent.      

"Americans have two different assessments of President Obama. One, personal. The other, policy," CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider said.        

"What does the public find most controversial about President Obama? His policies, much more than his personal qualities," he said.         

Democrats overwhelmingly approve of how Obama is handling his job as president; 61 per cent of independents agree. Only 28 % of Republicans say the president is doing a good job in office.          

"Now that Obama is president, the number who agree with his views on the issues has gone down, while the number who say he has the right personal qualities has gone up," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland added.