President Barack Obama's public approval rating has plummeted faster than President Jimmy Carter’s, reports RealClearPolitics in its review of Gallup polling.
Carter first polled at a 66 percent approval rating, dipping to 54 percent by September. Meanwhile, Obama has already tumbled down to 52 percent approval rating at the end of July, according to the latest Gallup survey.
The bottom line: Obama began his presidency at 68, hitting 69 the following day. That translates to a 16 point drop since day one. In less time than Carter, Obama has fallen more, concluded the RealClearPolitics review.
By contrast, Richard Nixon was in office more than a year before polling in the low 50s. Lyndon Johnson did not dip that low for several years. Dwight Eisenhower did not score in the low 50s until 1958.
The RealClearPolitics review comes on the heels of the latest sobering data put forth by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. In its report released this week, Obama’s overall job approval fell seven points since June – 61 percent to 54 percent.
In other Pew survey findings:
Among 30- to 49-year-olds, only 49 percent approve of Obama’s job performance – a 14-point decline from one month ago. With regard to Americans with annual family incomes less than $30,000, 55 percent approve today vs. 65 percent in June. Just 19 percent of Republicans say they approve of his overall job performance – a 12-point drop since June. While a plurality of independents approves of the job Obama is doing (48 percent approve, 37 percent disapprove), this is an eight-point decline in approval since June. Majorities of the public disapprove of Obama’s handling of the economy (53 percent) and the budget deficit (53 percent), while opinion is split on Obama’s handling of health care (42 percent approve, 43 percent disapprove) and tax policy (39 percent approve, 42 percent disapprove). Thirty-eight percent now say they approve of Obama’s handling of the economy – down from 52 percent in June and 60 percent in April. In total, this rating has dropped 22 points from April to July. Approval ratings for Obama’s handling of the federal budget deficit dropped 18 points since April – going from 50 percent to 32 percent. Approval for Obama’s handling of foreign policy has slipped from 61 percent in April to 47 percent – a decline of 14 points. On Obama’s handling of health care, approval declined 9 points from 51 percent in April to 42 percent in July. Approval for Obama’s handling of tax policy also is down since April – from 50 percent to 39 percent. Although Barack Obama’s job approval ratings have declined over the past month, the Pew report concluded that most Americans say they like “the kind of person he is and the way he leads his life.” Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) personally like Obama, while just 12 percent say they dislike him.
Despite the drop in Obama’s approval for his handling of the economy, 63 percent say they are optimistic that his policies will improve economic conditions in the country.
On the other hand, 49 percent of the public say that Obama’s policies so far have not made economic conditions better or worse – with 41 percent saying he is trying to do too much.
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