President Barack Obama’s approval ratings have surged in two polls conducted since he delivered his well-received speech on the Tucson shooting - with even the vast majority of Republicans giving the president high marks for how he’s handled the tragedy.

In a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday morning, 54 percent of Americans said they approve of how Obama is doing his job, while 43 percent disapprove.

His approval rating is the highest it’s been in the poll since April, while his disapproval was last as low as 43 percent in March 2010. In December, 49 percent of Americans surveyed for the Post-ABC poll approved of Obama’s performance, while 47 percent disapproved.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey also released Tuesday pegged the president’s approval rating at 53 percent and his disapproval at 43 percent. In December, the poll showed Americans evenly divided, with his approval and disapproval rates both at 48 percent.

Obama delivered his speech on the Tucson shooting on Jan. 12, and both polls were conducted in the days after he spoke.

In the Post-ABC poll, 78 percent of Americans said they approve of how Obama has responded to the shooting, including 91 percent of Democrats and 71 percent of Republicans. Sarah Palin does less well, with 30 percent saying they approve of how she responded to the shooting while 46 percent said they disapprove of her response.

Americans’ views of Obama’s leadership skills have been bolstered by his handling of the shooting, the CNN poll suggests. Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed said they think the president is tough enough to handle a crisis, up from 53 percent from a poll conducted last year, and 57 percent said they see him as a strong and decisive leader, up 4 percentage points.

The Washington Post-ABC News poll surveyed 1,053 adults Jan. 13-16. The error margin is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. The CNN poll was conducted Jan. 14-16 and surveyed 1,014 adults. Its error margin is plus or minus 3 percentage points.



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