THE APPROVAL RATING FOR US President Barack Obama has jumped in the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden.

A poll conducted by the Pew Research Centre and the Washington Post shows that Obama’s approval rating is up 9 per cent following bin Laden’s death.

Although 38 per cent disapprove of how Obama is handling his post, 56 per cent said they approve. In April, 45 per cent approved of his performance as president and 45 per cent disapproved.

Meanwhile, a new Gallup poll suggests that a slight majority of Americans believe their country is now safer from terrorist attacks. Fifty-four per cent of those participating in the poll said they believed the US is safer, while 28 per cent said it was less safe.

Thirty-nine per cent said bin Laden’s death makes them “a lot more confident” that the US can succeed in its war against “Islamic terrorism”.

Despite those results, some 62 per cent of the poll’s respondents said they believe a terrorist attack on the US could take place within the coming weeks, with 17 per cent believing it is “very likely”.

In TheJournal.ie‘s poll yesterday, 79 per cent of respondents said they did not believe bin Laden’s killing made the world a safer place.

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