Approval rating
Encyclopedia
In the United States
, presidential
job approval ratings were introduced by George Gallup
in the late 1930s (probably 1937) to gauge public support for the President of the United States
during his term. An approval rating is a percentage determined by a polling
which indicates the percentage of respondents to an opinion poll
who approve of a particular person or program. Typically, an approval rating is given to a political figure based on responses to a poll in which a sample of people are asked whether they approve or disapprove of that particular political figure. A typical question might ask:
Like most surveys that predict public opinion, the approval rating is subjective. Many unscientific approval rating systems exist that skew popular opinion. However, the approval rating is generally accepted as a statistically valid indicator of the comparative changes in the popular US mood regarding a President.
:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, presidential
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
job approval ratings were introduced by George Gallup
George Gallup
George Horace Gallup was an American pioneer of survey sampling techniques and inventor of the Gallup poll, a successful statistical method of survey sampling for measuring public opinion.-Biography:...
in the late 1930s (probably 1937) to gauge public support for the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
during his term. An approval rating is a percentage determined by a polling
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
which indicates the percentage of respondents to an opinion poll
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
who approve of a particular person or program. Typically, an approval rating is given to a political figure based on responses to a poll in which a sample of people are asked whether they approve or disapprove of that particular political figure. A typical question might ask:
- "Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President?"
Like most surveys that predict public opinion, the approval rating is subjective. Many unscientific approval rating systems exist that skew popular opinion. However, the approval rating is generally accepted as a statistically valid indicator of the comparative changes in the popular US mood regarding a President.
President Barack Obama
Polling group's most recent poll for President Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
:
| Polling Group (Reverse Chronologically) | Date | Approval | Disapproval | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallup The Gallup Organization The Gallup Organization, is primarily a research-based performance-management consulting company. Some of Gallup's key practice areas are - Employee Engagement, Customer Engagement and Well-Being. Gallup has over 40 offices in 27 countries. World headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Operational... |
September 10-13, 2011 | 39% | 52% | 7% |
| Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American media company that publishes and distributes information based on public opinion polling. Founded by pollster Scott Rasmussen in 2003, the company updates daily indexes including the President's job approval rating, and provides public opinion data, analysis, and... |
September 15-17, 2011 | 45% | 55% | 2% |
| ABC News ABC News ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company... /Washington Post |
August 29-September 1, 2011 | 43% | 54% | 3% |
| Fox News Channel Fox News Channel Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation... |
August 29-31, 2011 | 44% | 47% | 9% |
| CNN CNN Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States... /Opinion Research |
August 24-25, 2011 | 45% | 54% | 1% |
| McClatchy The McClatchy Company The McClatchy Company is a publicly traded American publishing company based in Sacramento, California. It operates 30 daily newspapers in 15 states and has an average weekday circulation of 2.2 million and Sunday circulation of 2.8 million... /Marist |
August 2–4, 2011 | 44% | 46% | 10% |
| USA Today USA Today USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003... /Gallup Gallup Gallup can refer to:*Gallup, New Mexico*Gallup, South Dakota *George Gallup, American pollster*Elizabeth Wells Gallup, American educator and scholar... |
July 15–17, 2011 | 45% | 50% | 5% |
| NBC News NBC News NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is... /Wall Street Journal |
July 14-17, 2011 | 47% | 48% | 5% |
| Time Time (magazine) Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong... |
June 20-21, 2011 | 48% | 46% | 6% |
| Associated Press Associated Press The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists... – GfK GfK The GfK Group, established in 1934 as Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung is Germany's largest market research institute, and the fourth largest market research organisation in the world, after Nielsen Company, Kantar Group, and IMS Health... |
June 16–20, 2011 | 52% | 47% | 1% |
| CBS News CBS News CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main... |
June 3-7, 2011 | 48% | 43% | 9% |
| Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University Poll The Quinnipiac University Poll is an opinion poll research operated by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut... |
May 31-June 6, 2011 | 47% | 46% | 7% |
| GWU George Washington University The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States... /Politico Politico (newspaper) The Politico is an American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage of Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, media and the Presidency... |
May 8–12, 2011 | 52% | 45% | 4% |
| Newsweek Newsweek Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence... /Daily Beast |
May 2–3, 2011 | 48% | 49% | 3% |
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 year 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:Only the results of Gallup polls are included, as no other poll results exist for earlier presidents.| Order | President | Highest Approval | Lowest Approval | High-Low | Highest Disapproval | Approval Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | Obama Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in... |
69 (1/22/09) | 38 (8/22/11, 8/27/11, 8/29/11, 10/6/11, 10/13/11, 10/17/11) | 31 | 55 (8/27/11, 8/29/11) | 50 |
| 43 | Bush (G.W.) George W. Bush George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000.... |
90 (9/21/01) | 25 (10/3/08, 10/10/08, 10/31/08) | 65 | 71 (10/10/08) | 49.4 |
| 42 | Clinton Bill Clinton William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation... |
73 (12/19/98) | 37 (5/26/93) | 36 | 54 (9/6/94) | 55.1 |
| 41 | Bush (G.H.W.) George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to... |
89 (2/28/91) | 29 (7/31/92) | 60 | 60 (7/31/92) | 60.9 |
| 40 | Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor.... |
68 (5/16/86) | 35 (1/28/83) | 33 | 56 (1/28/83) | 52.8 |
| 39 | Carter Jimmy Carter James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office... |
75 (3/18/77) | 28 (6/29/79) | 47 | 59 (6/29/79) | 45.5 |
| 38 | Ford Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974... |
71 (8/16/74) | 37 (3/28/75) | 34 | 46 (4/18/75, 11/21/75) | 47.2 |
| 37 | Nixon Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under... |
67 (1/26/73) | 24 (8/2/74) | 43 | 66 (8/2/74) | 49.1 |
| 36 | Johnson Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States... |
79 (2/28/64) | 35 (8/7/68) | 44 | 52 (8/7/68, 3/10/68) | 55.1 |
| 35 | Kennedy John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.... |
83 (3/8/62) | 56 (9/12/63) | 27 | 30 (9/12/63, 11/8/63) | 70.1 |
| 34 | Eisenhower Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army... |
79 (12/14/56) | 48 (3/27/58) | 31 | 36 (3/27/58) | 65.0 |
| 33 | Truman Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his... |
87 (6/1/45) | 22 (2/9/52) | 65 | 67 (1/6/52) | 45.4 |
| 32 | Roosevelt (F.D.) Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war... |
84 (1/8/42) | 48 (8/18/39) | 36 | 46 (5/22/38, 5/29/38, 11/7/38) |
Graphs
| Gallup Poll graphs of approval ratings for Presidents of the United States President of the United States The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.... : |
See also
- Historical rankings of Presidents of the United States
- Public image of Barack Obama
External links
- Historical Presidential Job Performance Ratings - Roper Center
- Historical Midterm Presidential Approval Ratings Data from Data360
- PollingReport
- Pollster
- President Obama Job Approval (RealClearPolitics)
- President Job Approval Ratings
- Historical Presidential Approval Ratings 1945-2009 from the Wall Street Journal