http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/18/us/politics/18poll.html?hp

"Poll Finds Faith in Obama, Mixed With Patience

President-elect Barack Obama is riding a powerful wave of optimism into the White House, with Americans confident he can turn the economy around but prepared to give him years to deal with the crush of problems he faces starting Tuesday, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

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As the nation prepares for a transfer of power and the inauguration of its 44th president, Mr. Obama’s stature with the American public stands in sharp contrast to that of President Bush.

Mr. Bush is leaving office with just 22 percent of Americans offering a favorable view of how he handled the eight years of his presidency, a record low, and firmly identified with the economic crisis Mr. Obama is inheriting. More than 80 percent of respondents said the nation was in worse shape today than it was five years ago.

By contrast, 79 percent were optimistic about the next four years under Mr. Obama, a level of good will for a new chief executive that exceeds that measured for any of the past five incoming presidents. And it cuts across party lines: 58 percent of the respondents who said they voted for Mr. Obama’s opponent in the general election, Senator John McCain of Arizona, said they were optimistic about the country in an Obama administration.

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His favorable rating, at 60 percent, is the highest it has been since the Times/CBS News poll began asking about him. Overwhelming majorities say they think that Mr. Obama will be a good president, that he will bring real change to Washington, and that he will make the right decisions on the economy, Iraq, dealing with the war in the Middle East and protecting the country from terrorist attacks. Over 70 percent said they approved of his cabinet selections.

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By a number of measures, Mr. Obama appears to enjoy more good will from the American public than did his recent predecessors. For example, 68 percent of respondents said he would be a very good or good president; at this point after the disputed election of 2000, just 43 percent of respondents said that about Mr. Bush."

Wow. +25% over incoming Bush.

For Coke Stevenson, that's one out of every four people being optimistic about Obama than were not optimistic about Bush Jr.

I also suspect the inauguration will be at least 25% more attended than that of Shrub's 2000 affair.