Sixty-three percent (63%) of U.S. voters say it is at least somewhat likely that major legislation to improve the country will be passed during Barack Obama’s first 100 days in the White House, a strong indicator of how much voters are counting on the new administration and Congress to fix the current economic mess.

Thirty-three percent (33%) say it is Very Likely.

Only 12% say it is not at all likely to happen, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Thirty-seven percent (37%) of voters also rate the way Obama and his team have handled the transition to power as excellent, with another 29% giving them good marks. Just nine percent (9%) say they’ve done a poor job.

Obama scored a +27 in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval Index on Friday, slightly down from his highest ratings to date.

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The first order of business for Obama and the new Congress is an economic recovery plan expected to cost anywhere between $800 billion and $1.2 trillion. A majority of voters (54%) believe a major government recovery plan is necessary to restore the U.S. economy.

Women are slightly more confident than men that major legislation is coming in the first 100 days of Obama’s presidency, although 35% of male voters say it is Very Likely compared to 31% of female voters. While only seven percent (7%) of women think it is not at all likely, 17% of men say that is the case.

Democrats have a lot of confidence in their new team. Forty-eight percent (48%) of Democrats say major legislation to improve the country will be passed in the first 100 days, a view shared by 31% of unaffiliated voters and 15% of Republicans. One-out-of-five GOP voters (20%) and 18% of unaffiliateds say it is not at all likely to occur, compared to just one percent (1%) of Democrats.

Although America’s current economic problems do not match those of the Great Depression, Democrats have drawn comparisons between now and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first 100 days in 1933. In that period, Roosevelt proposed and Congress passed an historic series of institutional reforms and short-term economic relief measures known as the “New Deal.”

Older voters, however, are less likely to think that Obama and the new Congress can match Roosevelt’s record. While 42% of voters ages 18-29 say it is Very Likely that major legislation will be passed during Obama’s first 100 days, just 24% of those 65 and older agree.

Only 30% of investors say major legislation is Very Likely in the first 100 days, compared to 38% of non-investors. Government employees are nearly twice as confident of that as those who work for private companies.

The Rasmussen Investor Index fell four points on Friday to 65.9. That’s up three points from a month ago but down 46 points from a year ago.

Forty-three percent (43%) of African-American voters say Obama and Congress will deliver in the first 100 days, but just 30% of whites agree.

Nearly half of GOP voters (47%) give Obama and his team good or excellent marks for how they’ve handle the transition to power, as do 59% of unaffiliated voters. Not surprisingly, 86% of Democrats feel that way. Fifteen percent (15%) of Republicans, 13% of unaffiliateds and two percent (2%) of Democrats say they have done a poor job in the transition period.

Sixty-two percent (62%) of investors rate the performance of the new president and his team so far as good or excellent, compared to 74% of non-investors. Ten percent (10%) of investors and seven percent (7%) of non-investors say their transition performance has been poor.

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