Job Approval After Two Years in Of ice

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Dec 30, 2010 - 2009, Gallup polls found that 67% of Americans approved of the job he was ... delivered his “evil empir
Polling  News  &  Notes     Overlooked  Recent  Polling  and  Insights  •  December  30,  2010   Measuring  Obama’s  Approval  After  Two  Years:  When  Barack  Obama  entered  office  in  January   2009,  Gallup  polls  found  that  67%  of  Americans  approved  of  the  job  he  was  doing—the  highest  of   any  newly  elected  president  since  John  F.  Kennedy  in  1961.    But  now,  nearly  two  years  later,  how   do  Obama’s  job  approval  ratings  stack  up  against  other  modern  presidents  at  similar  points  in   their  terms?     At  47%  in  the  most  recent  week’s  Gallup  poll,  Obama’s  approval  is  the  third-­‐lowest  of  any   president  since  World  War  Two.    On  average,  presidents  have  had  an  approval  rating  of  56.5%   after  two  years  in  office,  or  10.5  points  higher  than  Obama’s  today.      

Job  Approval  After  Two  Years  in  Of>ice   (Gallup  Polls  Since  World  War  II,  Shaded  by  Party)   76   69  

JFK  

DDE  

64  

GWB  

63  

GHWB  

62  

LBJ  

57  

HST  

52  

RMN  

51  

JEC  

47  

BHO  

41  

40  

RWR  

WJC  

  President  Obama  might  take  some  solace,  however,  from  the  fact  that  the  two  presidents  with   lower  approval  ratings  than  him  at  this  point  in  their  term—Ronald  Reagan  (41%)  and  Bill  Clinton   (40%)—both  went  on  to  win  re-­‐election.       For  Reagan  and  Clinton,  the  third  year  in  office  was  a  pivotal  turning  point.  In  1983,  Reagan   delivered  his  “evil  empire”  speech  ordering  U.S.  troops  to  invade  Grenada,  and  the  unemployment   rate  fell  from  10.4%  to  8.3%.  In  1995,  Clinton  sent  troops  to  Bosnia  and  began  “triangulating”  to   the  political  center.    As  a  result,  at  the  start  of  their  fourth  year  in  office,  both  Reagan  and  Clinton   crossed  back  above  the  50%  threshold.    If  President  Obama  hopes  to  win  a  second  term,  2011  will   need  to  be  an  equally-­‐momentous  turning  point  for  his  presidency.     ###