Voters in Pennsylvania have given President Barack Obama his the best job rating approval in nearly two years, according to a poll released Thursday morning.

In the latest Quinnipiac University poll, voters approved of the job the president is doing by 51-44 percent, his highest rating in the commonwealth since July 2009, when it was 56-33 percent.

But Pennsylvania voters said they oppose two of Mr. Obama's key issues:

• Voters said by 52-40 percent that the U.S. should not be involved in Afghanistan;

• Voters said by 48-42 percent that Congress should repeal the health care reform.

"President Barack Obama's approval numbers are up substantially since Dec. 16, when the commonwealth's voters split, 44-43 percent, on his job approval," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Obama's approval rating has been going up nationally as well, and the 7-point jump in approval since December in this pivotal swing state should be good news in the White House."

The poll also showed voters approve of the job U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. is doing, by 44-24 percent. By 46-28 percent, voters say Mr. Casey deserves another term in office.

From Feb. 8 through Monday, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,366 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points.

First Published: February 17, 2011, 5:00 p.m.