68% Approval Rating for Reagan in Poll

WASHINGTON —  President Reagan begins his second term today from a peak of public approval higher than at any time since the flood of sympathy after he was shot in April, 1981, and with large majorities expecting continued progress in both the economy and relations with the Soviet Union over the next four years.

His party is also strengthened, to the point where about as many people consider themselves Republicans as Democrats now.

These are among the chief findings of a Washington Post-ABC News poll, conducted Jan. 11 to Jan. 16, in which people were asked both to rate Reagan’s performance so far and predict how he will do in the future.

In the survey, 68% said they approve of Reagan’s handling of the presidency while 28% said they disapprove. That is his highest popularity in almost four years. (The approval rate was 73% just after Reagan was shot.)

As have other recent surveys, the poll shows the Republican Party rapidly gaining ground.

Thirty-four percent of those interviewed said they are Democrats, 29% Republicans and 36% independent. Not since the early 1950s has the GOP come so close to the Democrats. As recently as 1978, polls found twice as many declared Democrats as Republicans.