Polls boost for Obama

US President Barack Obama said the killing of Osama bin Laden marked a “good day for America”. Polls show it was a good day for him too.

Two surveys released yesterday found the president’s approval ratings climbed to 56%, a nine-point improvement over last month.

The polls were carried out on Monday, after details were released about the Navy Seal raid on bin Laden’s fortified compound in Pakistan. The results were reported by The Washington Post/Pew Research Centre and USA Today/Gallup Poll.

Meanwhile, nearly 60% of Americans would never support a Republican presidential bid by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin or real estate mogul and reality TV star Donald Trump, according to another poll.

But the Quinnipiac University poll of 1,408 voters found that about half would consider or be enthusiastic about backing former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney or former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in the November 2012 election.