Another national poll is out testing the reaction to Obama’s speech, with CNN showing that speech-watchers came away feeling optimistic and reassured.
The numbers: 68% of viewers said they had a very positive reaction, compared to 24% somewhat positive and only 8% negative. And an astonishing 85% said the speech made them feel more optimistic about the direction the country is headed in (though granted, feeling more optimistic than before might be a low bar), and only 11% said it made them more negative.
And 82% of speech-watchers say they support Obama’s economic plans as outlined in the speech, with only 17% against.
A caveat from CNN polling director Keating Holland: “These are great numbers for Obama, but they are no better or worse that Bill Clinton or George W. Bush got after their first speeches to Congress.”
The numbers are also distorted somewhat, in that CNN estimates the viewing audience was 8-10 points more Democratic than the general public. But even if we subtracted 10 points from all the positive numbers above, that’s still more than pretty good.
