Washington, Dec. 18 (ANI): The popularity of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has gone up by four points since October - placing her within nine points of President Barack Obama - according to a new Gallup poll.

Out of the 1,025 Americans surveyed, forty four percent Americans see Palin favourably, up from 40 percent in October.

Palin’s favourability swung wildly in the few months after she was named Senator John McCain’s vice presidential running mate. But since the end of the campaign, Palin’s numbers had been somewhat static until popping back up.

While Palin’s numbers have ticked up of late, Obama’s have remained stagnant after a drop in approval and favorability this summer.

Fifty-six percent of those surveyed had a favorable opinion of the president, the same number that held the view at the beginning of October.

Since the start of his administration in January, Obama’s approval rating has fallen 22 percentage points.

“Obama and Palin are arguably the most prominent members of the Democratic and Republican Parties at the moment. While Obama’s popularity has sagged over the course of the year, he remains a more popular figure than Palin, and continues to receive higher favorable ratings than overall job approval ratings,” Politico quoted Gallup’s Jeffrey M. Jones, as saying.

“Palin’s recent book release and the surrounding publicity seemed to have a very modest effect on how Americans view her, but on balance the public still views her more negatively than positively,” he added. (ANI)