CBS NEWS POLL For release: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 7:00 am ET *Embargoed until Tuesday, Feb.

12 at 7:00 am ET* Heading into the State of the Union Address

February 6-10, 2013

As President Barack Obama prepares for the first State of the Union Address of his second term, 52% of Americans now approve of the job he is doing as President, while 38% disapprove. Mr. Obamas approval rating has remained fairly constant over the past year, though it rose as high as 57% in December. Only 12% of Republicans approve; 86% of Democrats do. Just under half of independents approve. Now 52% 38 President Obamas Job Rating 1/2013 12/2012 3/2012 51% 57% 41% 41 37 47 2/2012 50% 43

Approve Disapprove

The President gets lower marks on his handling of the economy, a topic that will likely be addressed in his speech. Fewer than half of Americans (45%) approve of how the President is handling the economy, while more (49%) disapprove. On the other hand, the President enjoys particularly strong support for his handling of terrorism 57% approve, while 31% disapprove. President Obamas Job Ratings Approve Disapprove Terrorism 57% 31 Economy 45% 49 The practice of using unmanned drone aircrafts to attack suspected terrorists in foreign countries a policy begun by the Bush Administration and expanded under President Obama enjoys widespread and bipartisan support. Seven in 10 Americans favor using drones to attack suspected terrorists abroad, including most Republicans, Democrats, and independents. Drone Attacks Against Suspected Terrorists in Foreign Countries Total Reps Dems Inds Favor 71% 78% 70% 68% Oppose 20 13 19 25 Americans also support a more controversial measure, although in smaller numbers. 49% of Americans favor the targeting and killing of U.S. citizens living abroad who are suspected of carrying out terrorist activities against the U.S.; 38% oppose that.

Killing U.S. Citizens Abroad Suspected of Terrorist Activities Total Reps Dems Inds Favor 49% 58% 48% 45% Oppose 38 31 39 43 Looking ahead, Americans are not especially optimistic that there will be more cooperation between Republicans and Democrats in the next four years than there was during the Presidents first term. Just 17% think there will be more cooperation, 22% say less, and 58% say cooperation will be about the same as it was during the last four years. Cooperation Between Dems and Reps in Second Term More 17% Less 22 Same 58
_______________________________________________________________________ This poll was conducted by telephone from February 6-10, 2013 among 1,148 adults nationwide. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

CBS NEWS POLL February 6-10, 2013 q1 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? ** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ** *** Party ID *** Total Rep Dem Ind % % % % 52 12 86 48 38 82 8 37 10 7 6 15

Approve Disapprove DK/NA

Jan13a % 51 41 7

q5 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling the economy? Approve Disapprove DK/NA 45 49 6 7 90 3 79 16 5 38 52 10 46 49 5

q7 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling the threat of terrorism? Approve Disapprove DK/NA 57 31 13 27 61 12 80 10 9 54 30 16 Dec12a 60 29 12

q36 During Barack Obama's second term in office, do you think there will be more cooperation between Republicans and Democrats in Washington than there has been during the last four years, less cooperation, or about the same amount of cooperation as there has been during the last four years? More Less Same DK/NA 17 22 58 3 6 32 61 2 26 17 55 2 15 21 59 4 Jan13a 22 21 55 2

q63 Do you favor or oppose the U.S. using unmanned aircrafts or drones to carry out bombing attacks against suspected terrorists in foreign countries? Favor Oppose DK/NA 71 20 9 78 13 9 70 19 11 68 25 7

q64 Do you favor or oppose the U.S. targeting and killing American citizens in foreign countries who are suspected of carrying out terrorist activities against the U.S.? Favor Oppose DK/NA 49 38 13 58 31 11 48 39 13 45 43 13