The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval Index for Thursday shows that 42% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way Barack Obama is handling the role of President-elect while 13% Strongly Disapprove. Those figures give Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of +29, matching his highest ratings to date (see trends, see Obama By the Numbers). Obama’s party has a six-point advantage on the Generic Congressional Ballot.

Later today, Obama will lay out plans for a $775 billion economic recovery plan that could grow even larger. Most Americans (54%) say such a plan is needed to restore the health of the U.S. economy while 33% say that the economy can recover on its own. Tax cuts are a more popular component of the plan than infrastructure spending among all voters. However, among Democrats, the preferences are reversed.

On the foreign policy front, just 26% of Americans believe the United States will be safer at the end of 2009 than it is today. Forty-two percent (42%) disagree.

Seventy-three percent (73%) of political liberals Strongly Approve of Obama’s performance since the election. That upbeat assessment is shared by 45% of political moderates and 23% of political conservatives.

The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve. Overall, 69% of voters somewhat or strongly approve of Obama’s performance so far while 28% disapprove. By way of comparison, 13% of all voters Strongly Approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president. Forty-five percent (45%) Strongly Disapprove. That gives the current President a -32 rating on the Presidential Approval Index.

Please take a moment to predict where Obama’s ratings will be on Inauguration Day, January 20. The Presidential Approval Index is updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. (Want a free daily e-mail update? Sign up now. If it's in the news, it's in our polls).

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These figures come as the Rasmussen Employment Index signals continued weakness in the labor market. For every worker whose firm is hiring new workers, there are two whose firms are laying people off.

Despite the troubled economy, most Americans believe that just about anybody who is willing to work can find a job. Most also believe it’s possible for just about anyone to work their way out of poverty. However, most say it’s not possible for anyone willing to work hard to get rich in America.

Forty-seven percent (47%) say that today’s generation of children will not be better off than their parents and Americans are narrowly divided over whether the United States will still be the world’s most powerful nation at the end of the current century.

Thirty-eight percent (38%) of American voters have a favorable opinion of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi while 53% offer an unfavorable opinion. For Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the numbers are 33% favorable and 45% unfavorable. As for Republican Congressional leaders, Mitch McConnell earns positive reviews from 28% while 35% express a less favorable opinion. John Boehner’s numbers are 26% favorable and 32% unfavorable.

In December, the number of people who consider themselves to be Democrats increased for the third straight month.

Other stats on Obama and the nation’s political environment are updated daily on the Rasmussen Reports Obama By the Numbers page. Recent demographic notes and trends are also available.

A Fordham University professor has rated the national pollsters on their record in Election 2008. We also have provided a summary of our results for your review.

Daily tracking results are collected via telephone surveys of 500 likely voters per night and reported on a three-day rolling average basis. The margin of sampling error—for the full sample of 1,500 Likely Voters--is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Results are also compiled on a full-week basis and crosstabs for the full-week results are available for Premium Members.

Like all polling firms, Rasmussen Reports weights its data to reflect the population at large (see methodology). Among other targets, Rasmussen Reports weights data by political party affiliation using a dynamic weighting process.

A review of last week’s key polls is posted each Saturday morning. We also invite you to review other recent demographic highlights from the tracking polls.