Poll: What’s the ‘Obama Effect’ on race relations?

Oct 23, 2009

While some of the soaring optimism of Election Day has tempered, more than six in 10 Americans predict in a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll that Barack Obama’s presidency will improve race relations in the United States in the years ahead.

Four in 10 say it already has.

As the anniversary of his election approaches, the mood of the recession-battered nation continues to be generally glum: By 3-1, those surveyed say they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country, and Obama’s job-approval rating is a middling 50%.