Poll: Nearly half of Republicans agree with Obama on raising tax rates

President Obama seems to be winning over even Republicans in his push for a debt deal to include increased tax rates on incomes greater than $250,000 per year, according to a new poll released Tuesday.

The Bloomberg poll showed that almost half of all GOP voters surveyed say the president has an election mandate to raise taxes on the rich, while nearly two in three say the election should be read as an endorsement of the president's pledge to preserve entitlement benefits.

The survey also showed Obama with a 53 percent approval rating — the president's highest numbers since December of 2009.

The post-election glow has seemingly benefited the president across policy areas. Some 48 percent of voters support Obama's handling of the economy, up from 41 percent in September. On foreign affairs, 54 percent of voters support his work, up from 45 percent before the election. Voters are also more likely to support his handling of the deficit and believe he is doing the right thing in his negotiations with congressional Republicans.

The public is also impressed by the president's willingness to meet with corporate executives during the "fiscal cliff" negotiations. More than half — 54 percent — say the meetings show he is "genuinely interested" in working with the business community.

Voters also said the president was carrying a mandate on immigration reform into his second term, with 57 percent of Americans seeing such a directive. That's less true for climate change — Americans are split 46-46 percent on whether Obama has a mandate — and whether the president should be able to implement defense cuts. While half of Americans say he was charged to cut defense spending, 47 percent disagree.

There was a moment of caution for the president in the poll, however. Some 46 percent of Americans expect the president to adjust his governing style from his first term, while only 37 percent said it validated his leadership style.

The Bloomberg poll comes as another survey from The Washington Post and ABC News showed only 24 percent of Americans approve with the job that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has done in the fiscal-cliff negotiations. 

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