Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Obama Approval Rating at All Time Low


President Barack Obama's approval rating has dropped more than 18 points since taking office to an all-time low of 44.7 percent, according to a new Gallup poll.

The results of the poll, released Thursday, average approval ratings from more than 90 thousand respondents during the third quarter of 2010, July 20 through October 19. Only three presidents since 1954—Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, and Jimmy Carter—received lower marks in the seventh quarter of their presidencies.

More Americans also say they don't think Obama deserves a second term in office, 54 percent, to 39 percent who say the president should be reelected. Only 38 percent of respondents in a 1994 Gallup survey said they thought Clinton deserved a second term, but the president earned a decisive 49-point victory in the 1996 elections; former President George W. Bush enjoyed reelection support from 62 percent of respondents in a 2002 survey, before going on to his second term in 2004.

These numbers may tell more of a story than just the prospect of a second term. Seventh-quarter approval ratings in every president's term come just before critical midterm elections. Republicans made huge congressional gains on their "Contract With America" campaign in 1994, when Clinton's approval and reelect ratings were low. The GOP held steady under Bush in 2002's midterms.

Obama's low ratings are likely unwelcome news to Democrats, who are fighting to keep Republicans from winning the 39 House seats and 10 Senate seats needed to gain control of Congress.

30 comments:

AnnaPratas5 said...

The overall approval of the President is bound to drop. Generally, the public blames the nation's problems on the person "in charge" of said nation, even if that person has little control over the issues. The drop is especially noticeable with Obama, who came into office with such high ratings, the drop looks significant.

Weizhou Lin 1 said...

In my opinion if President Obama Does get something done I don't think I would give him a second term. I mean he says that he's gonna fix the economy, build better education, lower taxes, and provide universal health care. Well my question is which one has he done and which ones he hasn't done.

ShaliniJayawickrama1 said...

I think the drop in approval ratings can be attributed to impatience to some degree. Obama ran on the slogan of 'Change.' Many people were excited about this. However, I think they might have expected a more drastic change sooner than possible.

Payal Patel said...

This rating could possibly just be based on nature of times voters. We are in a really terrible time right now, and our government seems to be trying but to society if nothing physically happens then we don't think about it. This poll could simply be people who are not approving of Obama due to the fact that we are in a economic recession and nothing seems to be getting better.

Lacy Tullos 2 said...

It's pretty sad that the number of people who want him reelected is almost as low as Clinton's. But if Clinton of all people can still manage to be reelected then I think Obama still has a shot too, as long as he doesn't screw up too bad between now and the next election.

CatarinaGutierrez1 said...

Obama isn't going to win reelection. There are too many people who are disappointed by his performance, especially over the "Obamacare." He'll need one heck of a campaign if he wants to stay in this. But then again we did reelect Bush.

DaliaMartinez-Marin1 said...

why have they dropped so much? It's also possible that even though its dropped he could be reelected like Clinton. The democrats just need to get a better hold on things...

Anonymous said...

When people aren't happy with the way the country is, it is natural to blame the head person and the leading political party of the time. This is especially interesting to see just what will happen with the midterm elections. It really looks like we are not going to have a democratic congress any more, which is not necessarily a bad thing. There needs to be a balance between the those two branches to prevent hasty party decisions.

ChelseyBryant2nd said...

Well, maybe if Obama didn't promise so many things before he was elected, then maybe, just maybe, more Americans would approve of him. Maybe he'll get reelected, maybe he won't. It all depends on what he'll get accomplished by the end of his term.

Richard Windisch 2 said...

While I put little stock into polls like this for things like elections, it does show a sharp decline in Obama's popularity. Whether it is disillusionment about the lack of major change in the economy or kind of authoritarian principles like no MacDonald's in low income areas, making trans-fats illegal, and putting even tighter restrictions on things like smoking due to health care reform, he seems to be losing popularity. It comes down to whether this is the change you were looking for.

NickZias1 said...

It doesn't surprise me that Obama's approval rating has continually become lower. It seems that he hasn't been doing anything that he promised us during his election except the health care bill, which we need a better economy to keep up. I wouldn't be surprised to see Republicans gain more power in Congress, but we'll never really know until it happens.

Katy Rendon 2nd said...

The economy is still sagging despite the occasional progression in jobs. When citizens elected Obama as President, they perhaps naively produced the thought that their economic instability would be both easily and conveniently cured. However, such a turn around is inevitable in a short time period, and the people's need for fast action has caused a bias towards the Democrats. Americans have lived a life of luxury, convenience, and speed, and the Democratics' failure to suceed to such attributes has given them a less than presentable name. Time is slaughtering the Democratic Party.

Rihin Chavda Prd-1st said...

I agree with this article because Obama is going back on his word. He should not be able to run in office again for another term because of his hypocrisy. An example is the war in the Middle East, Obama claimed he would take out all if the troops but they are still over there.

Alex Salazar !st period said...

If Obama plans on being reelected he is going to have to work on gaining points with his people. Midterm elections around the corner and his approval rating being low it's going to be a struggle. It also seems that even though approval ratings can be low past presidents still seemed to manage reelections. Shows that numbers are not always reliable. Obama and the people are just going to have to wait and see what the elections bring.

Radhika Gandhi said...

This article does not make me happy. Obama is trying his best and doing something rather than nothing. With the way our nation was left, shattered, its hard for any promising president to put the pieces back together. People never tire of complaining/whining. America voted for him, now America should learn how to deal with him and be supportive. Complaining and giving low approval ratings isn't going to get change or impeachment, its just going to give another headache to an already tense time period. Although I'm in full support of Obama the fact that he has an all time low from even the past presidents makes me shocked.

courtneyfleming01 said...

I believe all we can do is wait to see if Obama gets reelected. Every president has had their ups and downs whether they were republican or democratic, the president can't control what the people are going to think. He needs to worry about the country and not his reelection possibilities.

Aaron Rocha 2nd said...

I really ' see how i am exposed to comment on this except for say the obvious. Which is that looks like Obama has a bad chance at a second term. Then again everybody didn't bush was gonna get a second term either....

Samantha Brookes 2nd said...

Well this doesn't really surprise me. Those who didn't vote for him obviously aren't going to like him now and those who did vote for him are probably tired of waiting for him to do something, or see results from the things that he has done. If Obama runs for a second term I highly doubt he will be reelected, but then again people never expected him to win the first time.

AllysonSadegur5th said...

I believe that the low approval ratings of Obama lately show that more than likely he is not to be reelected during midterm elections. Most Americans had high hopes for Obama in what he promised at the beginning of his presidency; a change.
If Obama hopes to keep his 39 democratic House seats and 10 democratic Senate seats in Congress, he needs to actually try to up his approval rating by doing what we want him to do, not what he thinks we need.
I don't think that he can actually come back from low approval in the seventh quarter like Clinton because too many people don't favor what he is doing with that bills he is trying to pass.

AllysonSadegur5th said...

I believe that the low approval ratings of Obama lately show that more than likely he is not to be reelected during midterm elections. Most Americans had high hopes for Obama in what he promised at the beginning of his presidency; a change.
If Obama hopes to keep his 39 democratic House seats and 10 democratic Senate seats in Congress, he needs to actually try to up his approval rating by doing what we want him to do, not what he thinks we need.
I don't think that he can actually come back from low approval in the seventh quarter like Clinton because too many people don't favor what he is doing with that bills he is trying to pass.

Laura Liu 5th said...

Although this is not good news for Democrats, it is good news for Republicans. With Democratic control of the White House, Republicans are happy to gain some ground. Despite this though, I still believe Obama has a good chance at reelection. Even if his ratings are lower, he has been doing a good job; our unemployment rates are lower and the economy is improving.

AlissiaWarden5 said...

There are ppl that like him and there are ppl that don't like him. There are ppl like what he did, and there must be a reason that he did it. We can't just look on one side of it it has to be looked on both sides.

Rachel Naasz 2 said...

Thats pretty sad that so many people actually dislike Obama that much to not vote in favor of returning for a second term. Even more sad is that they grouped Obama with Clinton and Reagan who have done some pretty messed up stuff during their former presidency. From what the other articles say, it sounds like the Republicans might actually win the House seats which to me would be a great down fall for Obama.

Anonymous said...

The only difference between Bush and Obama is that the liberal media supports whatever he does. But the American voters know what is wrong and right, apparently. He's just young and inexperienced, and he isn't prepared for his job.

ShelbeyBridgeman02 said...

I think that no matter how low his approval rates drop this won't affect his reelection too badly. As proven with Clinton, Obama's current polling percents aren't puttting him out of the game for the next election. I think this has to do with how most Americans simply don't like changing so quickly. Even when majorities claim to dislike a returning candidate many times that person comes out on top simply because people vote for the comfort of the usual; even if the new may be improved.

Angelica Ramirez 2nd said...

I agree with the fact that Obama is dropping in polls, i think the voters had to much faith in him, and he is not living up to everything they had envisioned him to be, Obama must step up and prove to the American voters that he is worthy to be president of the great nations.

JanieMahan5 said...

these facts are nothing but expected for me. i think the majority of americans have been less than impressed with obamas administration and policies. we'll see what happens.

Meghan Taraban 1 said...

While this isn't surprising it is kind of sad. I think everybody had really high hopes for Obama and the fact that he's not living up to people's expectations is a bit of a let down. I don't think it's likely that he'll bounce back from this and his prospects for re-election are looking worse and worse. I'm really disappointed by this.

MacyHogue2 said...

This just goes to show how ambivalent politics can be. It doesn't seem like so long ago that so many people supported Obama, and now his ratings are backwards.

AliFleming01 said...

Although i hoped a couple of years ago that obama would become president, he hasnt showed many good qualities while in office. Now iam not saying that he shouldnt be re elected or anything, you never know he may become one of the best presidents in history within two years, but maybe it would be better for the nation if he wasnt.