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President Obama's approval ratings are at the highest since he took office, according to the latest CBS News/New York Times poll. Of those surveyed, 66% approve of how Obama is handling the job, up two points from last month, and 67% said they believed world leaders respected the US president, up from just 30% when the question was asked in 2006.

The country is heading in the right direction, according to 39% of those polled, up from 15% just before Obama took office. Republicans remained skeptical about the president, however, with only 31% approving of Obama's performance. The president's handling of the economy, foreign policy, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq won high marks, but some initiatives remain unpopular—58% of those polled disapproved of the bank bailout. (Read more President Obama stories.)