Conversely, just 31 percent of respondents said they had a favorable view of the Republican Party -- the party that was in charge of the White House when the recession started in December 2007 and the financial crisis hit in the fall 2008. The poll sampled 998 adults April 1-5, 2009.

Obama's high approval rating

In the poll, 66 percent of Americans said they approved of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president, and 24 percent disapproved. That's up from a 62-15 approval rating during the week of February 4-9.

However, President Obama's approval rating was split along voting preferences. Among those who said they voted for U.S. Sen. John McCain for president, 57 percent said they disapproved of Obama's performance.

What's more, 39 percent of Americans believe the nation is headed in the right direction now, up from a minuscule 15 percent during the final week of President Bush's administration.

Spending cutbacks, job concerns cited

However, the era of consumer cutbacks, what economist Peter Dawson has called the era of the "frugal consumer," was also apparent in the poll. The survey indicated that 50 percent of Americans said they had made cutbacks in their day-to-day spending on luxury items, 10 percent cutback on necessities, and 31 percent said they had cutback on both.

Further, 44 percent of Americans said they were very concerned that they or someone in their household might be out of work and looking for a job in the next 12 months; 26 percent said they were somewhat concerned and 30 percent said they weren't concerned at all.

Also, just 34 percent believed the U.S. economy was getting worse, down from 54 percent before Obama took office; 20 percent think the economy is getting better, up from 7 percent in mid-January.

Concerning the ability of the political parties, most Americans, 57 percent, believe the Democratic Party, is more concerned with their needs and problems; 22 percent said the Republican Party is more concerned. However, the above response also was split along party lines: 85 percent of Democrats said the Democratic Party is more concerned, while 58 percent of Republicans said the Republican Party is more concerned.

Political/Economic Analysis: In addition to a congressional "honeymoon," all presidents generally start their presidency with the "benefit of the doubt" from the American people. Still, President Obama's approval rating is impressive, and no doubt reflects his ambitious, and so far successful, effort to get his budget and related legislative agenda through Congress.

President Obama scored a major victory with the fiscal stimulus package, and Congress will probably approve his fiscal 2010 federal budget with only minor changes, although his universal health care and climate change reduction initiatives may be phased-in over longer time periods. There have been a few gaffs -- particularly regarding cabinet nominees' inability to pay all of their taxes due -- but overall, the public sees an intelligent, activist, president with a strong grasp of the issues, and a willingness to forge new coalitions to get problems solved. So far, the American people sense they're getting what they voted for. That said, President Obama knows his presidency will be judged a success or failure by the American people based on his administration's ability to get the U.S. economy growing again.

Financial Editor Joseph Lazzaro is writing a book on the U.S. presidency and the U.S. economy.