Q-Poll Finds Americans Not Crediting Obama for Economic Recovery

A national poll released by Quinnipiac University on Thursday finds that Americans are feeling better about the economy -- but that shift in thinking is doing little to improve Democrat incumbent President Barack Obamas chances for a second term in November.

The poll of registered voters shows that a majority -- 54 percent -- of those surveyed believe the economy is starting to turn around, though a sizeable minority -- 43 percent -- do not think it is. This is a dramatic shift from a Quinnipiac poll released in September which found that only 28 percent of those surveyed thought the economy was bouncing back while 68 percent thought it remained in bad shape.

Obama is upside down in the new poll with 49 percent disapproving of his performance as president while 45 percent approve of it. Fifty percent think Obama does not deserve a second term while 45 percent think he should have four more years in the White House.

While Obamas job performance numbers went up slightly compared to a Quinnipiac poll from late November -- which had him at 44 percent favorable and 50 percent unfavorable -- the number of Americans who think he does not deserve a second term also grew. In the November poll, 48 percent thought he should be denied a second term while 45 percent thought he was entitled to be re-elected.

The poll of 2,605 registered voters was taken from Feb.14-20 and had a margin of error of +/- 1.9 percent.