Gallup: Hillary Clinton more popular than Obama, Biden

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton holds a higher favorability rating than either President Obama or Vice President Biden, according to a survey released Tuesday by Gallup.

Sixty-four percent of those surveyed had a favorable impression of the former first lady. By contrast, 55 percent said they had a favorable impression of President Obama, and 45 percent said the same for Vice President Biden — Clinton's potential foe in a 2016 Democratic primary. Former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, who assumed Clinton's job at the State Department, was seen favorably by 44 percent of those surveyed.

The survey was conducted before last week's bombing at the Boston Marathon, and the subsequent capture of a suspect following a daylong manhunt. It is not clear how the terrorist attack and its aftermath could affect the president's popularity rating.

Nevertheless, Clinton's edge is indicative of the conventional wisdom in Washington — if the former New York senator chooses to run for the White House, she should have a relatively easy path to the Democratic nomination. The survey found that a staggering 91 percent of Democrats had a favorable impression of Clinton, versus just 76 percent for Biden. "At a time when many political analysts are floating former Secretary of State Clinton's name as a potential contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, her favorability rating outshines those of current Obama administration officials, including the president himself," said Gallup's Andrew Dugan in a statement. "Vice President Biden is also reportedly considering running in 2016, but as of now, his favorability rating is not nearly as high as that of his possible competitor, among rank-and-file Democrats and among the public in general."

That said, Clinton's popularity is likely due, in part, to the political advantages of retirement and having previously worked as the nation's top diplomat. Clinton's approval rating hovered around 50 percent in the years preceding her appointment to Obama's cabinet, as she served in the U.S. Senate and campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination.

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Gallup: Key immigration-reform proposals hold broad support

Two immigration reform proposals — a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants and increased border security spending — have strong support among the public, a Gallup survey found Tuesday.

Seventy-two percent of those surveyed said illegal immigrants presently living in the U.S. should have an opportunity to acquire citizenship if they meet certain requirements, and 25 percent said they should not.

Sixty-eight percent also supported increased government spending on border security, while only 29 percent were opposed.

While there is some variation between Republicans and Democrats surveyed, both proposals enjoyed majority support from members of both parties.

Fifty-nine percent of Republicans said they supported a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, versus 90 percent among Democrats. And on the question of increased spending on border security, 79 percent of Republicans said they supported the idea, compared to 64 percent of Democrats.

A bipartisan group of Senate lawmakers have proposed a framework that entails increased security measures at the border and a path to citizenship that doesn’t allow illegal immigrants to leapfrog immigrants who have already applied to come to the U.S. legally.

GOP leaders, including Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), have said they hope to act on immigration reform, but rank-and-file House Republicans are skeptical of proposals to grant citizenship, which they call “amnesty."

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Gallup: Majority supports Obama’s gun-control proposals

A majority of people favor President Obama’s efforts to impose stricter gun laws, according to a Gallup survey released late Friday.

According to the poll, 53 percent said they would want their congressman to vote in favor of Obama’s proposals, against 41 who said they would want their representative to vote against the proposals.

On Wednesday, Obama and Biden, flanked by children they said wrote to the White House about gun safety in the wake of the Newtown massacre, unveiled 23 executive actions the president signed into law. Those measures include efforts to improve existing background checks and gun safety, and even encourage doctors to ask patients about guns in their homes.??Obama also pressed lawmakers to quickly implement universal background checks on all firearm purchasers and restore the federal ban on military-style assault weapons and a limit on the size of ammunition magazines.

The issue, according to Gallup, remains highly partisan – 82 percent of Democrats favor the new laws, while 15 percent oppose, compared to only 22 percent of Republicans who are in favor, against 72 who oppose.

Obama has sought to rally public support in past battles over taxes and spending, and is leveraging his high approval rating, and recent opinion polls that show public support for tighter gun restrictions, in an effort to pressure Congress to take action.

The Gallup survey of 1,021 adults was conducted on Jan. 17 and has a 4 percentage point margin of error.

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