Obama Approval Rating Rises: Poll

Americans are warming up to the way President Barack Obama is handling his job, though he still has a 50 percent disapproval rating, according to a poll released Friday.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that Obama has a 49 percent approval rating, up from 47 percent, while the number of Americans who say the country is headed in the right direction has slightly increased to 25 percent from 21 in a previous survey.

The poll was taken Oct. 31 following Obama's new line of attack on Republicans blocking his legislative agenda. Saying that we can't wait for Republicans in Congress to move legislation, Obama has signed executive orders on issues such as student loans and mortgage relief to an end-run--albeit, limited--on the opposition.

The economy has also improved, with unemployment inching down to 9 percent from 9.1 and 80,000 new jobs created in October. The long-term unemployed also saw their ranks decrease by 366,000 to 5.9 million.

Obama's also received praise for a NATO's mission in Libya that culiminated in the death of Moammar Gadhafi at the hands of Libyan rebel fighters who took up arms after the dictator's violent crack down on a democratic uprising.

In Statistical Dead-Heat With Romney

The Reuters/Ipsos poll also tested Obama against the Republican presidential contenders. Obama is in a statistical dead heat with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who leads the president 44 percent to 43, within a 2.9 percent margin of error.

Another GOP presidential frontrunner, former businessman Herman Cain, trailed the president, 46 percent to 41. The poll, however, was taken before reports surfaced about Cain getting hit with sexual harassment allegations while he was the head of a restaurant trade association in the late 1990s.

For Texas Governor Rick Perry, Obama holds a six-point lead, 47 percent to 41.

Obama's upswing with Americans was also seen in a Thursday poll from Quinnipiac. His job approval ratings were up to 47 percent, an increase from his 41 percent approval rating from Oct. 5. Voters were split on whether Obama deserves reelection, 47 percent to 49, which was an increase from a previous poll.