Poll finds Obama more popular than stimulus plan

By Paul Steinhauser
CNN Deputy Political Director

WASHINGTON (CNN) - A new national poll suggests that three out of four Americans approve of the job Barack Obama is doing as president, but the economic stimulus package he's trying to push through Congress is not nearly as popular.

Seventy-six percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Monday gave Obama a thumbs-up on how he's performing his duties, while 23 percent disapproved.

As the poll was released, Obama was on the road, in Elkhart, Indiana, to help promote his plan to jump-start the economy. Later in the day he's holding a prime-time news conference from the White House to pitch the plan.

While the president puts on a full-court press, the debate over the $800 billion-plus bill, which includes increased government spending and tax cuts, appears to have split the public. A slight majority, 54 percent, favor the bill; 45 percent are opposed.