{"id":52270,"date":"2008-12-11T13:45:00","date_gmt":"2008-12-11T18:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2008\/12\/11\/section-4-obamas-transition\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:48:47","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:48:47","slug":"section-4-obamas-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2008\/12\/11\/section-4-obamas-transition\/","title":{"rendered":"Section 4: Obama\u2019s Transition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Public reaction to President-elect Obama\u2019s transition thus far has been very positive. Large majorities approve of his choices for cabinet positions and other high level offices (71%) and the job he has done in explaining his policies and plans for the future (72% approve). More than six-in-ten (63%) say it is a good thing that many of his top advisors worked in the Clinton administration.<\/p>\n\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/legacy\/475-29.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"326\" height=\"484\"><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most Americans also are satisfied with the ideological tenor of Obama\u2019s appointments: 68% say they are \u201cabout right,\u201d while 15% say they are too liberal and just 3% say they are too conservative. In particular, just 1% of liberal Democrats say Obama\u2019s choices are too conservative, despite grumbling among some activists on the left.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Surveys conducted during previous presidential transitions have generally found a favorable public reaction to the incoming president and his actions, but public response to Obama\u2019s appointments and speeches has been even more favorable than average. For example, 64% approved of President-elect Clinton\u2019s cabinet appointments during the transition in 1993, and 58% approved of George W. Bush\u2019s appointments during the same transition period eight years later. A 56% majority said that it was a good thing that many of Bush\u2019s top advisors had served in his father\u2019s administration. Obama\u2019s ratings on all of these questions are significantly higher.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Obama is getting less laudatory marks \u2013 though on balance, still positive \u2013 for his explanation of how he would handle current problems with financial institutions and markets. Overall, 57% give him an excellent (19%) or good (38%) rating on this, but 21% say he has done only a fair job and 12% rate his explanations as poor. At the height of the presidential campaign in October, registered voters were evenly divided about the job Obama was doing in explaining how he would handle problems with financial institutions (48% excellent\/good vs. 47% only fair\/poor).<\/p>\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;partisan-reactions-to-transition&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" id=\"partisan-reactions-to-transition\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Partisan Reactions to Transition<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On balance, more Republicans approve of Obama\u2019s cabinet choices than disapprove (45% vs. 41%). Democrats and independents offer overwhelmingly positive opinions of Obama\u2019s cabinet selections (89% and 75% approve, respectively).<\/p>\n\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/legacy\/475-30.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"294\" height=\"490\"><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In January 2001, George W. Bush\u2019s cabinet choices received about the same approval rating from Democrats (44%) as Obama\u2019s selections currently receive from Republicans. Bush\u2019s selections received lower marks from independents (58%) than Obama\u2019s today.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notably, a plurality of Republicans (47%) say that Obama\u2019s choices are about right ideologically; 35% say they are too liberal, while very few (2%) say they are too conservative. In January 2001, just a third of Democrats said Bush\u2019s picks were about right, a\nlthough as with overall approval of the selections, a relatively large proportion of Democrats (26%) offered no opinion.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republicans are less positive about Obama\u2019s use of Clinton-era advisors, with just 34% saying it\u2019s a good thing Obama is relying on so many of them and 49% saying it\u2019s a bad thing. Bush\u2019s use of advisors from his father\u2019s administration evoked a similar pattern of reactions among Democrats in January 2001.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Public reaction to President-elect Obama\u2019s transition thus far has been very positive. Large majorities approve of his choices for cabinet positions and other high level offices (71%) and the job he has done in explaining his policies and plans for the future (72% approve). More than six-in-ten (63%) say it is a good thing that 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of Bad Times Fueling Consumer Cutbacks","slug":"psychology-of-bad-times-fueling-consumer-cutbacks","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2008\/12\/11\/psychology-of-bad-times-fueling-consumer-cutbacks\/","is_active":false},{"id":52233,"title":"Section 1: The National Economy","slug":"section-1-the-national-economy","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2008\/12\/11\/section-1-the-national-economy\/","is_active":false},{"id":52244,"title":"Section 2: Personal Finances and Economic Concerns","slug":"section-2-personal-finances-and-economic-concerns","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2008\/12\/11\/section-2-personal-finances-and-economic-concerns\/","is_active":false},{"id":52257,"title":"Section 3: The Government and the 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