Is Obama's Presidency A Failure? 50 Percent Say 'No'

More Americans say U.S. President Barack Obama has been a success now than after his first full year and first two years in office, according to results of a CNN/ORC poll released Thursday. Half of Americans say Obama’s presidency is a success, compared to 47 percent who say it's been a failure.

That 50 percent mark is the highest rating for Obama since 2009, when 51 percent of Americans polled labeled his presidency a success after his first six months in office. In Obama’s first year, only 47 percent rated his tenure as a success and 45 percent said so in January 2011 following his first two years in office.

Of those who deemed Obama’s presidency a failure, 37 percent said it was due to his own actions, another 9 percent blamed Congress and 1 percent said they weren’t sure why it was a failure. The poll also showed Obama’s favorable rating climbing since his last favorable/unfavorable numbers were surveyed in a CNN/ORC poll in late November. More than half of Americans -- 52 percent -- said they have a favorable opinion of Obama, compared to 46 percent who had an unfavorable view.

The president’s favorable rating was above 50 percent for the first time since late November 2012, when 56 percent of Americans had a favorable opinion of him and 41 percent had an unfavorable opinion. His highest numbers were shortly before his inauguration in January 2009, when his favorable rating stood at 78 percent.

On job performance, a majority of Americans still disapprove of the way Obama is handling his role. A little more than half -- 51 percent -- of Americans disapprove of his job while 46 percent approve and 3 percent have no opinion. Those numbers are in line with a mid-February CNN/ORC survey that found Obama’s approval at 47 percent and his disapproval at 51 percent.

Thursday’s poll of 1,009 American adults was taken March 13-15 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.