United States Presidential Approval Rating - Historical Comparison

Historical Comparison

Obama joins the two most recent fellow Democrats (Clinton and Carter) and two recent Republicans (Reagan and Ford) in falling below 50% approval within the first term in office. His predecessor, Republican George W. Bush, enjoyed high approval ratings throughout his first years before they declined sharply in his second term. Historical Gallup Poll approval highs and lows for each President since 1937:

Order President Highest Approval Lowest Approval High-Low Highest Disapproval Approval Average
44 Obama 69 (January 22, 2009) 38 (August 22, 2011/August 27, 2011/August 29, 2011/October 06, 2011/October 13, 2011/October 17, 2011) 31 55 (August 27, 2011/August 29, 2011) 49
43 Bush (G.W.) 90 (September 21, 2001) 25 (October 31, 2008) 65 71 (October 31, 2008) 49.4
42 Clinton 73 (December 19, 1998) 37 (May 26, 1993) 36 54 (September 6, 1994) 55.1
41 Bush (G.H.W.) 89 (February 28, 1991) 29 (July 31, 1992) 60 60 (July 31, 1992) 60.9
40 Reagan 68 (May 16, 1986) 35 (January 28, 1983) 33 56 (January 28, 1983) 52.8
39 Carter 75 (March 18, 1977) 28 (June 29, 1979) 47 59 (June 29, 1979) 45.5
38 Ford 71 (August 16, 1974) 37 (March 28, 1975) 34 46 (April 18, 1975/November 21, 1975) 47.2
37 Nixon 67 (January 26, 1973) 24 (August 2, 1974) 43 66 (August 2, 1974) 49.1
36 Johnson 79 (February 28, 1964) 35 (August 7, 1968) 44 52 (August 7, 1968/March 10, 1968) 55.1
35 Kennedy 83 (March 8, 1962) 56 (September 12, 1963) 27 30 (September 12, 1963/November 08, 1963) 70.1
34 Eisenhower 79 (December 14, 1956) 48 (March 27, 1958) 31 36 (March 27, 1958) 65.0
33 Truman 87 (June 1, 1945) 22 (February 9, 1952) 65 67 (January 6, 1952) 45.4
32 Roosevelt (F.D.) 84 (January 8, 1942) 48 (August 18, 1939) 36 46 (May 22, 1938/May 29, 1938/November 07, 1938)

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