(Week of 1/26/2013) Hillary Clinton leaves her position as Secretary of State even more popular than when she began that job. And the killings of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya seem not to have affected her popularity. In this week’s Economist/YouGov Poll, 58% of Americans have a favorable view of the retiring Secretary. In 2009, 49% were favorable.
Clinton is even more popular than President Obama and Vice President Biden. Just about half of all adults have favorable opinions of the President and Vice President.
Clinton is the one Democrat who has a majority positive rating from independents: 54% of them are favorable towards her. And even about one in three Republicans say they like her (contrast this with 11% and 14%, this week’s numbers for Republicans with favorable opinions of President Obama and Vice President Biden).
Her job rating is also positive: 56% approve of the way she has handled her job as Secretary of State. That’s not much different from the 57% who gave her an “excellent” or “good” rating in 2010. However, this fails to capture the whole story: the weight of public opinion regarding her job performance has shifted in her favor during her term. A third of Republicans also approve.
Economist/YouGov poll archives can be found here
Photo source: Press Association
