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Gallup: Obama Plummets to Lowest Annual Approval Rating Ever
Tuesday, January 20, 2015 05:40 PM
By: John Blosser
With six years down and just two left in which to build a legacy, President Barack Obama has posted his lowest ever average annual approval rating.
A Gallup poll finds that Obama, in the period between January 20, 2014, and Monday, posted an approval average of just 42.6 percent, Gallup notes.
During their sixth years in office, Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon showed their lowest approval rating as well, with the sixth-year approval rating of every president since 1945 averaging just 45.5 percent, Politico notes.
President George W. Bush tapped out the lowest at 37.3 percent, while President Bill Clinton scored an average approval of 63.8 percent, just before the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, Politico reports. Ronald Reagan, in his sixth year, averaged a 59.9 percent approval rating, Gallup reports.
Previously, Obama's lowest yearly average came during the third year of his presidency, 44.4 percent, and his current yearly average is below last year's average of 45.8 percent, Politico notes.
Obama gets slightly better news from Real Clear Politics, which lists him as averaging a 44.7 current approval rating, according to the site's roundup of polls, which shows various polls giving him approval ratings ranging from a low of 38 percent, from Reuters, to a high of 48 percent, from Rasmussen Reports.
"President Obama certainly had a trying sixth year in office as he dealt with challenges abroad, such as the rise of Islamic militants in the Middle East, and faced continued partisan gridlock in trying to address key domestic issues," Gallup commented.
"During the fall months, he registered some of the lowest approval ratings of his presidency. That culminated with Republicans' strong showing in the midterm elections, giving them solid majorities in both houses of Congress.
"But since that time, aided by falling unemployment, plummeting gas prices and generally solid economic growth, as well as resurgent support from Hispanics, things have started to look up for Obama."
Obama's approval rating, the New York Times notes, has increased lately to 46 percent from around 42 percent right after the mid-term elections in November.
"It is a relatively small increase, but it is more impressive in the context of the unusual stability of Mr. Obama’s approval rating, which hovered between 42 and 44 percent for 15 consecutive months," the Times notes.
"There is a well-established relationship between the pace of economic growth and a president’s approval ratings, and Mr. Obama is clearly benefiting from signs of accelerating economic growth," the Times commented.
"The modest improvement in Mr. Obama’s standing suggests that the Republicans cannot count on an easy midterm-like victory if the economy continues to grow at a healthy pace."
