Obama Has Fifty One Percent Approval At Start Of Second Term

Obama Has Fifty One Percent Approval At Start Of Second Term

 President Obama's approval rating stands at 51 percent as he prepares to be sworn in for a second term, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll. Forty-one percent of Americans say they disapprove of the overall job he is doing as president.

Mr. Obama's approval rating is down six points compared to December, shortly after his reelection, and is lower than the 62 percent approval rating he received shortly after taking office in 2009. His approval rating is slightly higher than where it stood at this point last year, when 47 percent approved of his performance and 45 percent disapproved.

Mr. Obama's approval rating hit its first-term high of 68 percent in April 2009, roughly 100 days after he first took office. His lowest rating came in March 2012, as Americans grappled with increased gas prices. His job rating hovered around 50 percent throughout 2010 and 2011, though it spiked to 57 percent in May 2011, after the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Obama’s 51 percent mark comes from a CNN/ORC International poll released Friday, as slightly more than half of respondents said the president had met or exceeded their expectations. But the poll also shows that Obama is not performing well on the issues the public finds most important.

 

Obama’s approval rating has improved since this time last year but it has dropped drastically since when he took office. Obama had a 62% approval rating shortly after taking office in 2009. His approval rating spiked about 100 days later when 68% of Americans approved of his job as president.

His approval rating has hovered around 50% throughout 2010 and 2011 with a spike to 57% in May of 2011 after killing Osama Bin Laden.

 

Obama’s 51 percent approval rating at the start of his second term is slightly higher than President George W. Bush’s approval rating when he started his second term (49%) but well below President Bill Clinton (60%) and President Ronald Reagan (62%) during the start of their second terms.

Obama may be supported by more than half of the country but not everyone is pleased with the direction that the country is heading in. According to our new NBC/WSJ poll, only 35% of adults believe that the nation is heading in the right direction and more than 70% are disappointed with the state of the economy.

Obama will officially began his second term on Monday, January 21 after his inauguration at the White House.