The most recent NBC News/Wall Street contained plenty of revealing numbers -- on President Obama, the health-care law, immigration, even affirmative action.

But lost in those numbers and headlines is a noteworthy finding: The American public is extremely hesitant to intervene directly in Syria's civil war.

Asked to pick a response to stop the killing of civilians in Syria, just 15 percent in the poll say they favor U.S. military action, and only 11 percent want to provide arms to the opposition.

By comparison, a plurality of respondents -- 42 percent -- prefer to provide only humanitarian assistance, and 24 percent believe the U.S. shouldn't take any action.

Perhaps more significantly, those attitudes cut across party lines and almost all demographic groups.

"Whether you voted for Romney or Obama, they have the same opinion on Syria," said Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted the survey with the Democratic firm Hart Research.

"It explains the great reticence of the American public," McInturff added.

These numbers come as calls for U.S. intervention in Syria -- after the Syrian opposition's recent losses on the battlefield -- have once again increased.

The New York Times:

So far President Obama has steadfastly resisted even a modest involvement in the conflict, and there was no sign on Monday that a decision to use American force was imminent.

But Hezbollah’s large-scale entry into the fight in recent weeks and the Assad government’s firepower has tilted the battlefield in favor of the Syrian government.

“I think the rebels are in trouble,” said Jeffrey White, a former Middle East analyst with the Defense Intelligence Agency who is now a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “Speed is of the essence. The regime’s momentum needs to be brought to a halt.”

The NBC/WSJ poll was conducted May 30 to June 2 of 1,000 adults (including 300 cell phone-only respondents), and it has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points.

Since last December, the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll has been measuring the favorability-unfavorability numbers for the potential 2016 candidates.

And here’s a fun little exercise First Read has undertaken: We've ranked the Republican possibilities by popularity -- among GOP respondents in the poll, as well conservatives respondents.

There are two big findings: One, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the former 2012 Republican vice-presidential nominee, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) are leading the pack. And two, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie -- despite his crossover appeal -- is trailing among Republicans and conservatives.

And get this: Christie has better ratings among liberal Democrats (44% positive, 14% negative) than he does among Republicans (40% favorable, 16% unfavorable) or conservatives (33 favorable, 15% unfavorable).

Among Republican respondents in the NBC/WSJ poll:

Paul Ryan: 62% favorable, 13% unfavorable (Dec. 2012 poll)
Rand Paul: 53% favorable, 6% unfavorable (April 2013)
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.): 49% favorable, 6% unfavorable (April 2013)
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush: 48% favorable, 7% unfavorable (May-June 2013)
Chris Christie: 40% favorable, 16% unfavorable (May-June 2013)
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker: 21% favorable, 5% unfavorable (May-June 2013)
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas): 21% favorable, 6% unfavorable (May-June 2013)

And here’s the ranking among conservative respondents in our poll:

Paul Ryan: 58% favorable, 11% unfavorable
Rand Paul: 47% favorable, 5% unfavorable
Marco Rubio: 45% favorable, 6% unfavorable
Jeb Bush: 44% favorable, 7% unfavorable
Chris Christie: 33% favorable, 15% unfavorable
Ted Cruz: 21% favorable, 6% unfavorable
Scott Walker 19% favorable, 5% unfavorable

Slideshow: Chris Christie

Mel Evans / AP

The N.J. politician's straight-talk and tough policies put him in the national spotlight — but after considering a presidential bid, the governor decided he wasn't ready.

Launch slideshow

Chris Christie is carving out a unique position in the polarized landscape of American politics. The Republican New Jersey governor now enjoys nearly equal appeal among Democrats, Republicans and independents according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

As Christie - who on Tuesday won the primary contest to be the Republican nomination for governor - looks to re-election this fall and possibly to the White House in 2016, he has forged a close relationship with President Barack Obama.

He’s also energized certain segments of the Republican Party with his tough fiscal approach to governing New Jersey, and has proven popular among Garden State residents for his style of crisis management.

It’s a combination that’s led to 40 percent of Republicans, 41 percent of independents and 43 percent of Democrats seeing him in a positive light.

Click here to read the entire NBC/WSJ poll (.pdf)

Christie's crossover appeal has some precedence. Arizona Sen. John McCain once enjoyed broad support, particularly among independents during and after his 2000 presidential bid, as did former Secretary of State Colin Powell when he was considered a potential presidential candidate in 1996 and beyond. But it's still unique to see an active politician receiving high marks among all the entire political spectrum.

Jeff Zelevansky / Getty Images

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie outlines plans for a special election to be held to fill the vacant seat of Sen. Frank Lautenberg on June 4, 2013 at the Statehouse in Trenton, N.J.

Compare Christie’s appeal to Obama, who’s seen favorably by 84 percent of Democrats vs. 11 percent of Republicans. And Hillary Clinton -- who left domestic politics to become secretary of state, and may be mulling her own presidential bid -- is also seen as polarizing, with 83 percent of Democrats viewing her positively compared to 15 percent of Republicans.

Among all respondents, Christie’s favorable/unfavorable rating lands at 41 percent favorable vs. 12 percent unfavorable. That’s compared to Obama’s 47 percent favorable/40 percent unfavorable rating and Clinton’s 49 percent favorable/31 percent unfavorable score.

Both Clinton and Christie will find themselves in Chicago next week, co-headlining a meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative.

Christie has been a national figure since having scored an upset victory over Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine in 2009, a rare victory for Republicans in deep-blue New Jersey.

His pugnacious style and crossover appeal won him fans among some high-profile Republicans, who practically beckoned him to seek the GOP presidential nomination in 2012 (and begged him to reconsider after he decided against it).

Slideshow: Jersey boy: Chris Christie through the years

Courtesy of Chris Christie

Family photos of the New Jersey governor reveal a childhood spent in the state he loves.

Launch slideshow

“Over the last few weeks I’ve thought long and hard about this decision. I’ve explored the options,” Christie said in Oct. 2011 following entreaties to reconsider his decision against running. “I’ve listened to so many people and considered whether this was something that I needed to take on. But in the end what I’ve always felt was the right decision remains the right decision today. Now is not my time. I have a commitment to New Jersey that I simply will not abandon.”

But Christie’s popularity among conservatives has tumbled somewhat in the time since then.

The governor’s effusive praise for Obama’s handling of the response to Hurricane Sandy in the days before last year’s presidential election particularly rankled conservatives, even though former GOP nominee Mitt Romney said Christie was only doing what was best for his state.

Christie -- who delivered the keynote speech at the 2012 Republican convention -- has appeared cozy with Obama at different points, as well, most recently during an appearance last week in Asbury Park to toast the rebuilt Jersey Shore boardwalk. (Christie also condemned an NRA ad in January invoking the president’s daughters as “reprehensible.”)

The New Jersey governor, never one to hold his tongue, has crossed fellow Republicans on several other matters. He expanded the Garden State’s Medicaid program under “Obamacare,” and he berated Republicans in Congress for holding up a Sandy relief package.

"There's only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims: The House majority and their speaker John Boehner," Christie said at the time. He called GOP lawmakers' insistence that Sandy aid be offset by other cuts a "disgusting" spectacle.

Those defections earned Christie a snub from appearing at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, the influential annual gathering of conservative activists in Washington. Though Christie dismissed the snub, it was representative of the friction between his positioning and the rightward flank of the GOP that exerts itself in presidential nominating cycles.

Some Republicans privately grumbled as recently as Tuesday, when Christie announced that he would hold a special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg rather than appoint a Republican placeholder through the 2014 election. And beyond that, Christie didn’t necessarily commit to naming a Republican interim appointee to the seat until October’s election.

Those GOP grumbles are evident in the NBC/WSJ poll. Despite his crossover appeal, his support among Republican respondents isn't as high as other prominent GOP politicians.

Take former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who also might be mulling a 2016 run -- 48 percent of Republicans in the poll view him favorably, compared to just 7 percent who view him negatively.

Christie's GOP support isn't as strong, however: 40 percent positive vs. 16 percent negative.

And that’s perhaps the price of having crossover appeal.

This story was originally published on Tue Jun 4, 2013 11:54 PM EDT

In another finding from the new NBC News/Marist poll, 55 percent of Virginia residents say they want stricter laws governing the sale of firearms, versus 36 percent who want them left the same.

Reflecting Virginia's status as a key national swing state -- President Obama twice won it by the same margin he won the national popular vote -- those numbers are virtually identical to the national ones from the April NBC/WSJ poll.

But there are fascinating political, demographic and geographic differences inside these numbers.

Eighty-two percent of Democrats in Virginia want stricter gun laws, compared with 56 percent of independents and just 29 percent of Republicans.

What's more, only 30 percent of gun owners and 38 percent of those living in households with guns favor stricter gun laws, suggesting a deep divide on this issue between gun owners and non-gun owners.

But that's not the only split: 68 percent of women in the state want stricter gun laws, versus just 41 percent of men who do.

And there's geography. A whopping 70 percent of those living in the Northern Virginian suburbs just outside of Washington, D.C., support stricter gun laws. That's compared with the Northern Virginian exurbs (49 percent), the central and western part of the state (49 percent), the Richmond area (49 percent), and the Tidewater region (59 percent).

The NBC/Marist poll was conducted April 28-May 2 of 1,218 adults in Virginia, and it has a margin of error of plus-minus 2.8 percentage points.

Former President George W. Bush has returned to the news -- in both big and small ways.

He's a brand-new grandfather after his daughter Jenna gave birth to a baby girl.

He recently gave a wide-ranging interview to the Dallas Morning News, in which he reflected on his two terms in the White House. “Much of my presidency was defined by things that you didn’t necessarily want to have happen,” he said, citing the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina.

More controversially, a new nonpartisan report concludes that, in the aftermath of 9/11, the United States practiced torture and that "the nation's highest officials bore ultimate responsibility for it," the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

And next week, he'll make a public appearance -- along with the other living presidents, past and present -- at the dedication of his presidential library in Dallas, Texas on April 25.

But as Bush is back, the same can't be said of his overall popularity.

According to the most recent NBC/WSJ poll, conducted April 5-8, 35 percent of Americans view him favorably, versus 44 percent who view him negatively.

Those numbers are virtually unchanged from the five other NBC/WSJ polls that have measured Bush since the summer of 2010, although they're an improvement from when he left office (31 percent fav/58 percent unfav).

Indeed, out of the six public figures the current NBC/WSJ poll measured -- including President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and New York City Michael Bloomberg -- Bush had the worst net fav/unfav score.

Yet buried inside Bush's poll numbers is a striking finding: He fares well among the demographic groups that have favored Republicans, including defeated 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, and he performs poorly among the demographic groups with whom Republicans have struggled.

The subgroups that have a net-positive view of Bush are Republicans (65 percent favorable/14 percent unfavorable), conservatives (60 percent/19 percent), seniors (48 percent/31 percent), rural Americans (43 percent/35 percent), Southerners (43 percent/37 percent), and whites (40 percent/39 percent).

But he is deeply unpopular among most other subgroups, including the biggest parts of Obama’s coalition -- 18-34 year olds (26 percent/46 percent), African Americans (19 percent/64 percent), and Latinos (27 percent/44 percent). In fact, Bush’s worst age group is the 18 to 34 year old, and his best are seniors.

He also has a net-negative with the swing demographic groups: suburban residents (37 percent/41 percent) and independents (30 percent/45 percent).

And while Bush has a net-positive rating in the South, he’s negative everywhere else: Northeast (30 percent/53 percent), Midwest (32 percent/46 percent), and West (32 percent/42 percent).

In other words, if you want more evidence of the Republican Party’s demographic strengths -- and demographic weaknesses -- look no further than these poll numbers.

Strong majorities of Americans say they favor stricter gun laws, including an assault-weapons ban and universal background checks for private gun sales, according to a new national Morning Joe/Marist poll.

Read the entire poll here

Six in 10 respondents – including 83 percent of Democrats, 43 percent of gun owners and 37 percent of Republicans – believe that the laws covering gun sales should be stricter.

This figure is virtually unchanged from the 61 percent who backed stricter gun laws when a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll asked the same question in February, even though at least one other national survey has found waning support for gun-control laws months after the Dec. 2012 shootings in Newtown, Conn.

Jessica Hill / AP

John Woodall. left, of Newtown, Conn., carries a sign that he says indicates the percentage of Americans who support universal background checks, speaks with Gordon Jones of Southbury, Conn., a supporter of gun rights during a rally outside the National Shooting Sports Foundation headquarters in Newtown on March 28.

What’s more, the Morning Joe/Marist poll finds that 87 percent of Americans support background checks for private gun sales and sales at gun shows, and 59 percent favor legislation that would ban the sale of assault weapons.

Later this month, the U.S. Senate is set to consider Democratic-backed gun legislation that, among other provisions, contains a requirement for universal background checks. With Republican senators threatening to filibuster the legislation, its prospects for passage remain uncertain.

Democrats also are expected to offer an assault-weapons ban as an amendment to the legislation, but it has almost no chance to win passage in the Senate.

Favoring job creation over deficit reduction
Turning to the economy and the deficit, the Morning Joe/Marist survey shows that Americans – by nearly a 2-to-1 margin – want President Barack Obama and Congress to make job creation their top priority (64 percent) instead of deficit reduction (33 percent).

Those who prefer Washington’s political leaders to emphasize job creation include 76 percent of Democrats and 46 percent of Republicans; a narrow majority of Republican respondents (51 percent) want the focus to be on deficit reduction.

Also, Obama edges congressional Republicans by four percentage points, 44 percent to 40 percent, on the question of who has a better approach to deal with the federal budget deficit.

But the president’s approach to deficit reduction – calling for a combination of spending cuts and increased tax revenues – is more popular than the Republicans’ cuts-only approach.

Forty-two percent of respondents prefer a mixture of spending cuts (including to entitlement programs) and revenue increases; 35 percent pick increasing mostly revenue; and just 17 percent choose mostly cutting government spending (including to programs like Medicare and Medicaid).

The Morning Joe/Marist poll was conducted March 25-March 27 of 1,219 national respondents by both landline phone and cellphone. It has a margin of error of plus-minus 2.8 percentage points. 

It's not just Democrats and liberals who are the reason for the shift on gay marriage. 

Beneath the broad support from liberal-leaning demographic groups, is the fact that some of the biggest shifts in favor of gay marriage since 2004 have been from some more unlikely, conservative-leaning blocs -- blue-collar workers, older voters, and Southerners, according to NBC News/Wall Street Journal polls over the last decade.

And, even though Democrats are markedly more in favor of gay marriage than independents or Republicans, the vast majority of whom remain against it, all three have moved at almost exactly the same rate.

Blue-collar workers’ views on gay marriage have actually shifted more than any other group since 2004. Eight months before George W. Bush was re-elected, just 18 percent said they were in favor of same-sex marriage, and 80 percent were opposed.

Eight years later, a plurality was in favor. In the December 2012 NBC/WSJ poll, 47 percent said so versus 43 percent who remained opposed.

While that 47/43 split shows blue-collar workers are far less supportive of gay marriage than Democrats (69/22), highly educated (66/28), young (65/29), or urban voters (63/31), it does represent a net change of 66 points – more than any other demographic subgroup since 2004.

Older voters, those 65 and older, remain among the most opposed to same-sex marriage (32/54), but that is actually a 43-point shift more in favor than in 2004, when four-in-five older voters were opposed (16/80).

A majority of voters in the culturally conservative South remain opposed to gay marriage (42/50). But that is far less opposition than in 2004 when, similar to older voters, just 20 percent of Southerners said they favored same-sex marriage, and 71 percent said they were against. That represents a net change of 43 points more in favor.

Among the political parties, Democrats have increased their support by 39 points, Republicans by 37 points, and independents 36 points. In 2004, almost a majority of Democrats were already in favor of same-sex marriage (49/41) and now stand out for their whopping support (69/22).

Independents narrowly favor gay marriage (46/43), moving from two-thirds opposed (30/63). And while nearly two-thirds of Republicans are still opposed (27/63), they were even more solidly opposed (11/84) in 2004.

Young voters, between ages 18-34, represented the second-largest shift since 2004 – 60 points, going from a solid majority opposing -- 56 percent -- to nearly two-thirds in favor. Northeasterners were the third-largest shift – 48 points, going from a majority opposed to three-in-five in favor. Westerners and white-collar workers moved by 47 points, also going from majorities opposed to majorities in favor.

Women also moved more rapidly than men, going from nearly two-thirds opposed to 57 percent in favor. Men went from two-thirds opposed to a 44 favor-46 opposed split.

The only groups who have decreased their support over the past decade have been rural voters, those age 50-64, and Hispanics – despite their overwhelming and historic support for President Barack Obama in 2012. Hispanics, who are largely Catholic, tend to be economically liberal, but socially conservative. (Unfortunately, the NBC/WSJ sample on that question in 2004 was a “split sample,” so the groupings of African Americans and Hispanics were too small to be statistically significant. Therefore, this decrease among Hispanics is from 2009.)

There has also been a big difference in support from the parties since Obama took office. Since 2009, Democratic support has gone up 27 points, independents 16, and Republicans just 12.

A major reason for the continued significant shift among Democrats is because of black voters. African Americans increased their support since Obama’s been president by 35 points.

The biggest shifts since 2009 have come from people who live in cities (+40), blue-collar workers (+36), African Americans (+35), age groups 35-49 (+35) and 18-34 (+32), Democrats (+27), people who live in the suburbs (+27), those who live in the Northeast (+25), and women (+25).

In addition to the graphic at the top right, here are some more numbers:

Since 2009:
Urban +40
Blue collar +36
Black +35
35-49 +35
18-34 +32
Democrats +27
Suburban  +27
Northeast +25
Women +25
Overall +20
South +20
White +19
West  +18
Independents +16
Midwest +15
White collar +14
Men +14
Republicans +12
65 and older +10
Hispanic -4
50-64 -5
Rural -9 

Other 2012 groups of note (which subgroups weren’t broken out in 2009 and 2004):
White working class 48/43    
Suburban women 55/36    
HS or less 40/50    
Some coll 50/42    
Coll grad  54/35    
Post grad 66/28    

Other interesting breakdowns from 2004:
17 Bush advertising states 30/64
12 swing states 31/62
Those who said definitely re-elect Bush 8/87
Those who said definitely defeat Bush 55/37

Over the last several years, the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll has chronicled a decline in the public's attitude about key institutions.

Fewer Americans have confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court, corporations, the federal government and the news media than they once had.  

But the most recent NBC/WSJ poll highlights another American institution that has lost its luster: the sports athlete.

According to the survey, only 42 percent of adults believe that athletes are good role models for children, versus 48 percent who disagree.

Why those numbers are so jaw-dropping: When another poll asked this exact same question in 1982, a whopping 75 percent of respondents said athletes are good role models, while just 19 percent said they weren't.

"That is a profound change over a generation," said Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who co-conducts the NBC/WSJ poll.

Of course, it's not difficult to explain the change. Just think about all of the scandals over the last few years involving performance-enhancing drugs or sex. Lance Armstrong. Barry Bonds. Tiger Woods. The list goes on.

And so does the decline in another American institution.

The NBC/WSJ poll was taken Feb. 21-24 of 1,000 adults (including 300 cell phone-only respondents), and it has a margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points.

With the automatic across-the-board spending cuts set to begin on Friday, Americans are split over whether President Barack Obama is emphasizing unifying the country or taking a partisan approach, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

But by nearly a 3-to-1 margin, respondents conclude that the Republican Party is emphasizing partisanship more than unity.

In the poll, 48 percent say Obama is pursuing a path to unify the country in a bipartisan way, while 43 percent say he's taking a partisan approach that doesn't unify the country.

Recommended: Boehner blasts Senate Democrats for inaction

By comparison, 64 percent say the Republican Party is taking a partisan approach, versus 22 percent who say it's focused on unity.

As for the Democratic Party, a plurality of respondents -- by a 49 percent to 37 percent margin -- think it is emphasizing partisanship more than unity.

The full NBC/WSJ poll -- which was conducted Feb. 21-24 of 1,000 adults, and which has a margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points -- comes out beginning at 6:30 pm ET.

As President Barack Obama is set to begin his second term next week, he finds himself with a job-approval rating above 50 percent and with majorities supporting his general direction on gun control and immigration, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

But he also confronts an American public holding mixed attitudes about the next four years, concerns about the economy and a belief that tougher times lie ahead.

Click here for the full poll (.pdf)

It’s a stark reversal from four years ago, when Obama’s first inauguration – despite taking place in the midst of the Great Recession – contained high expectations and seemed more like a “coronation,” says Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted the survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff.

“If 2009 was all about hope, 2013 is about the ability to cope,” Hart adds of the public’s lower expectations about the economy and reducing partisanship in Washington.

General support for Obama’s gun, immigration agenda
In the poll, 52 percent of adults approve of the president’s overall job performance, which is down one point from last month. In addition, 49 percent approve of his handling of the economy, versus 48 percent who disapprove.

What’s more, the public appears to be receptive to the broad outlines of his top agenda items for a second team.

Mandel Ngan / AFP - Getty Images file

President Barack Obama speaks on proposals to reduce gun violence on Jan. 16, 2013 in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House in Washington.

Fifty-six percent believe that the laws covering the sale of firearms should be stricter, compared with a combined 42 percent who want them less strict or kept the same.

That’s the most support on this particular question since 2006, but it’s less than the 60 percent to 70 percent who supported stricter gun laws during the 1990s, including when Congress passed an assault-weapons ban in 1994.

Related: NRA more popular than entertainment industry, poll says

Also, for the first time in the poll, a majority of Americans -- 52 percent -- favor allowing illegal immigrants who hold jobs to apply for legal status in this country.

And in the latest fiscal fight in Washington, more respondents say they would blame congressional Republicans (45 percent) than Obama and congressional Democrats (33 percent) if the nation’s debt limit isn’t raised and the country is unable to meet its obligations.

As for views on Obama’s qualities as president, he gets the best marks for being easygoing and likeable (61 percent give him high marks here), having the ability to handle a crisis (55 percent), being compassionate (53 percent), being knowledgeable and experienced (53 percent) and being a good commander in chief (51 percent).

His lowest marks come on achieving his goals (44 percent give him high marks here), working effectively with Congress (29 percent) and changing business as usual in Washington (28 percent).

'A lack of buoyancy'
Yet looking ahead to Obama’s next four years in office, Americans have tempered their expectations.

The public is split how Obama will fare in a second term, with a majority of respondents -- 51 percent -- saying they’re either “optimistic” or “satisfied.”

By comparison, a combined 48 percent say they are “uncertain” or “pessimistic.”

Asked another way, 43 percent are optimistic about the next four years, while 35 percent are pessimistic; 22 percent have a mixed opinion.

In addition, more than seven in 10 are dissatisfied with the current state of the economy, and just more than a third are either “very” or “fairly” confident in Obama’s ability to promote a strong and growing economy.

And 60 percent believe the coming year will be a time to hold back and save because of harder times ahead, versus 34 percent who instead think it will be a time of economic expansion and opportunity.

“The poll reveals a lack of buoyancy in looking ahead,” Hart, the Democratic pollster, says.

Adds GOP pollster McInturff: “This feels like a long four years, and it feels like a long four years ahead.”

Public continues to sour on Congress, GOP
But if Americans have tempered the expectations for Obama’s second term, they have soured even more on Congress and the Republican Party.

Just 14 percent of adults approve of Congress’ job (which is near the all-time low in the poll), while 81 percent disapprove (which is close to its all-time high).

What’s more, 49 percent hold a negative view of the Republican Party – its highest negative rating in the survey since 2008. Only 26 percent have a positive view.

By comparison, the Democratic Party has a net positive rating, with 44 percent holding a favorable view of the party and 38 percent holding an unfavorable one.

And the conservative Tea Party movement – which took off in Obama’s first year as president – also finds its popularity at an all-time low in the poll, with 23 percent viewing it favorably and 47 percent unfavorably.

On Iraq and Afghanistan
Soon approaching the 10-year anniversary of the Iraq war, nearly six-in-10 say the war wasn't worth it, versus 35 percent who say it was.

Yet asked another way, 55 percent of respondents think the war was successful.

Meanwhile, a narrow majority of Americans – 51 percent – say the war in Afghanistan hasn’t been worth it, though 62 percent believe the war there has been successful

The NBC/WSJ poll was conducted Jan. 12-15 of 1,000 adults (including 300 cell phone-only respondents), and it has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points.

As Hillary Clinton concludes her four-year tenure as secretary of state, a whopping 69 percent approve of her job, according to a new NBC/WSJ poll.

That includes 92 percent of Democrats, 64 percent of independents and even 41 percent of Republicans who approve of her job.

Just 25 percent disapprove of her job.

That 69 percent approval rating is higher than any other outgoing secretary of state measured in a survey since 1948 -- with one exception: Colin Powell, whose approval rating was at 77 percent per a late 2004 Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll. 

This NBC/WSJ poll comes after Clinton -- a potential 2016 presidential candidate -- was hospitalized for a blood clot. It also comes after her State Department was criticized for the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi.

The full NBC/WSJ poll -- which was conducted Jan. 12-15 -- is released at 6:30 pm ET.

As Washington prepares for a political battle over the Obama White House's proposals to curb gun violence after the Newtown, Conn., shootings, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that the National Rifle Association is more popular than the entertainment industry.

Forty-one percent of adults see the NRA -- the nation's top gun lobby -- in a positive light, while 34 percent view it in a negative light.

By comparison, just 24 percent have positive feelings about the entertainment industry, and 39 percent have negative ones.

The NRA's fav/unfav score is virtually unchanged from its 41 percent-to-29 percent rating in the Jan. 2011 NBC/WSJ poll, nearly two years before the Newtown shootings.

"That seems to me to be a pretty remarkably stable figure," says GOP pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted this survey with Democratic pollster Peter Hart.

But it's a substantial improvement from the 1990s, when the NRA's negative ratings outweighed its positive ones in the NBC/WSJ survey.

The current poll also shows a sharp divide between attitudes among gun owners and non-gun owners.

Among those who own a gun, 62 percent view the NRA favorably. But that percentage drops to just 25 percent among those who don't.

The full poll -- which was conducted Jan. 12-15 of 1,000 adults (including 300 cell phone-only respondents), and which has a margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points -- will be released at 6:30 pm ET.