Week in Polls: March 9

Confidence in President Obama and the economy grows.

Americans Weigh In - Congress loses a popularity contest, the number of interracial marriages in the United States reaches all-time high, President Obama gets kudos for fiscal cliff dealings, plus more national polls. – Joyce Jones and Britt Middleton

1 / 9

The Week in Polls: March 9 - Americans believe the economy is turning around, racial inequality persists in America’s schools, a bruising GOP primary race helps President Obama, and more. —By Joyce Jones and Britt Middleton

Dodd Frank - The bill rolls back provisions in the landmark Dodd Frank Wall Street reform legislation that aimed to curb the risky derivatives trading that led to the 2008 financial crisis.   (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

2 / 9

Americans Believe Economy Is Looking Up - Is the economic glass half full or empty? Well, according to a Gallup poll released March 5, 40 percent of Americans believe the U.S. economy is growing, a sizeable jump from 27 percent last April and a mere 3 percent in 2008. Despite the more positive numbers, 46 percent still believe the economy is in either a recession or a depression.(Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Educational Inequality in Public Schools - In a sad testament to schools nationwide, a study released on March 7 by the Campaign for High School Equity, a coalition of leading civil rights and education advocacy organizations, found that minority students are more likely to have the least experienced teachers and experience harsher punishments than their peers.(Photo: Times-Picayune/Landov)

3 / 9

Educational Inequality in Public Schools - In a sad testament to schools nationwide, a study released on March 7 by the Campaign for High School Equity, a coalition of leading civil rights and education advocacy organizations, found that minority students are more likely to have the least experienced teachers and experience harsher punishments than their peers.(Photo: Times-Picayune/Landov)

/content/dam/betcom/images/2012/03/National-03-01-03-15/030812-national-week-in-polls-traveling-work.jpg

4 / 9

No Place Like Home - If you travel a lot for your job, chances are you may feel an increased sense of guilt for doing so, according to a poll by Best Western International released on March 7. Sixty-two percent of surveyed business travelers said they feel guilty while traveling for business and 42 percent said they regretted missing quality time with friends and family. Thirty-five percent of travelers admitted they didn’t like eating unhealthily or skipping exercise while on the road.(Photo: Zia Soleil/Getty Images)

Obama Gets a Thumbs Up - Obama’s popularity is holding steady at 45 percent, according to Gallup’s daily tracking poll of the president’s job performance released March 7.(Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

5 / 9

Obama Gets a Thumbs Up - Obama’s popularity is holding steady at 45 percent, according to Gallup’s daily tracking poll of the president’s job performance released March 7.(Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

ADVERTISEMENT
Obama and the GOP Nomination Fight - The drawn-out race for the GOP presidential nomination is taking its toll on how the candidates are being perceived. Forty-nine percent of Democrats said that the more they learn about the GOP candidates, the more they like President Obama, compared to 36 percent who shared that view in December, according to a March 5 Pew Research Center poll.(Photo: Brad Vest/Getty Images)

6 / 9

Obama and the GOP Nomination Fight - The drawn-out race for the GOP presidential nomination is taking its toll on how the candidates are being perceived. Forty-nine percent of Democrats said that the more they learn about the GOP candidates, the more they like President Obama, compared to 36 percent who shared that view in December, according to a March 5 Pew Research Center poll.(Photo: Brad Vest/Getty Images)

Super Tuesday - In seven states that held primaries on March 6, 61 percent of voters collectively chose electability or experience as the most important attribute they sought in a candidate and 51 percent of those voters supported Mitt Romney, compared to 27 percent for Newt Gingrich, 16 percent for Rick Santorum and six percent for Ron Paul, according to exit poll results released by ABC News March 7.   (Photo: JOHN AMIS/LANDOV)

7 / 9

Super Tuesday - In seven states that held primaries on March 6, 61 percent of voters collectively chose electability or experience as the most important attribute they sought in a candidate and 51 percent of those voters supported Mitt Romney, compared to 27 percent for Newt Gingrich, 16 percent for Rick Santorum and six percent for Ron Paul, according to exit poll results released by ABC News March 7.   (Photo: JOHN AMIS/LANDOV)

How Mitt Romney Is Faring - Mitt Romney’s favorable rating is 28 percent among all voters, a decrease from 32 percent in January, and 22 percent among independents, states an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released March 5.(Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

8 / 9

How Mitt Romney Is Faring - Mitt Romney’s favorable rating is 28 percent among all voters, a decrease from 32 percent in January, and 22 percent among independents, states an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released March 5.(Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Obama vs. Romney - If the president were to face Mitt Romney, Obama would win a hypothetical general-election 44 percent to 40 percent and is favored by independents by 46 percent to 39 percent and women by 55 percent to 37 percent, according to NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released March 5.(Photos: John W. Adkisson/Getty Images; Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

9 / 9

Obama vs. Romney - If the president were to face Mitt Romney, Obama would win a hypothetical general-election 44 percent to 40 percent and is favored by independents by 46 percent to 39 percent and women by 55 percent to 37 percent, according to NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released March 5.(Photos: John W. Adkisson/Getty Images; Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)