Poll shows public is confident in Obama following Christmas Day bomb attempt

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In the aftermath of an attempted bombing of a U.S.-bound airliner, most Americans surveyed say they are satisfied with President Obama’s handling of the matter -- and nearly two-thirds voice confidence in the administration protecting Americans from future acts of terrorism.

In the Christmas Day attempt on a Detroit-bound flight from Amsterdam, the White House has conceded failures within the U.S. intelligence community, which had received signals of a potential threat but had not adequately analyzed the information.

The president also has ordered improvements in both intelligence analysis and security screening at airports. Americans were asked over the weekend: ‘How much confidence do you have in the Obama administration to protect U.S. citizens from future acts of terrorism -- a great deal, a moderate amount, not much or none at all?’’

In the survey sponsored by CNN and run by Opinion Research Corp., 62% voiced confidence, 41% a moderate amount of confidence and 24% a great deal.

That’s roughly the same percentage who said so at the end of August -- 63% had overall confidence, 27% a great amount, 36% moderate.

When asked if they approve of the way Obama has responded to the incident, 57% said they did, 39% voiced disapproval.

More than 500 people answered the questions that were asked in the Jan. 8-10 survey. The margin of error: 4.5%.

-- Mark Silva