President Obama's Average First Term Approval Rating Third Lowest Since WWII

President Barack Obama took the oath of office on Sunday afternoon, officially starting his second term in the White House.

President Obama, like practically any other President before him, had some high points (re-election, killing of Osama Bin Laden) and low points (debt ceiling crisis, unemployment rate hitting 10%, Republicans winning control of the House) during his first term in the White House. This was reflected in his approval rating, which swung from the high 60s (shortly after his inauguration) all the way down to the low 40s (debt ceiling impasse) before finishing at 51.9%.

According to Gallup.com (link below), President Obama's job approval rating averaged 49.1% during his first term in office, which is the third lowest first term average job approval rating that has been posted by any President since World War II. Only Gerald Ford (47.2%) and Jimmy Carter (45.5%) have posted lower numbers.

Here are the numbers, courtesy of Gallup:

Johnson, 74.2%
Kennedy, 70.1%
Eisenhower, 69.6%
G.W. Bush, 62.2%
G.H.W. Bush, 60.9%
Nixon, 55.8%
Truman, 55.6%
Reagan, 50.3%
Clinton, 49.6%
Obama, 49.1%
Ford, 47.2%
Carter, 45.5%

Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, who both finished their first terms with average job approval ratings of around 50%, both saw their popularity soar during their second terms in office.

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Here is a breakdown by year of President Obama's job approval numbers:

Y1 - 57.2%
Y2 - 46.7%
Y3 - 44.4%
Y4 - 48.1%

Source: Gallup.com - Obama Averages 49% Approval in First Term

Filed under: General Knowledge