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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 during his presidency. 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. Most often 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 the general opinion of the people.

Current President Barack Obama

Historical comparison

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Historical Gallup Poll approval highs and lows for each President since 1937:

Highest approval rating

George W. Bush holds the record, with 90% (9/21-22/2001—after the September 11 attacks).
George H. W. Bush is second highest, with 89% (2/28/-3/3/1991—after the Persian Gulf War).
Harry S. Truman is third highest, with 87% (6/1-5/1945—after V-E Day).
Franklin D. Roosevelt is fourth highest, with 84% (1/8-13/1942—after Pearl Harbor).

Lowest approval rating

Harry S. Truman holds the record, with 22% (2/9-14/1952—during the Korean War).
Richard Nixon is second lowest, with 24% (7/12-15/1974, 8/2-5/1974—during Watergate).
George W. Bush is third lowest, at 25% (10/3-5/2008, 10/10-12/08, 10/31-11/2/08—during the Late 2000s recession).
Jimmy Carter is fourth lowest, with 28% (6/29-7/2/79—during the Iran hostage crisis and ensuing Operation Eagle Claw).

Lowest maximum approval rating during the President's time in office

Richard Nixon holds the record, with 67% (1/26-29/1973).
Ronald Reagan is second lowest, with 68% (5/8-11/1981).
Barack Obama is third lowest, with 69% (1/22-24/09).
Bill Clinton is fourth lowest, with 73% (12/19-20/1998).

Highest minimum approval rating during the President's time in office

John F. Kennedy holds the record, with 56% (9/12-17/1963).
Barack Obama is second highest, with 52% (7/28-30/2009).
Franklin Delano Roosevelt is tied for third place with 48%*.
Dwight D. Eisenhower is tied for third place, with 48% (3/27-4/1/1958).
Gerald Ford is tied for fourth place, with 37% (3/28-31/1975).
Bill Clinton is tied for fourth place, with 37% (5/26-27/1993).

Biggest approval rating difference during the President's time in office

George W. Bush is tied for the record, with 65 percentage points.
Harry S. Truman is tied for the record, with 65 percentage points.
George H.W. Bush is third highest, with 60 percentage points.
Jimmy Carter is fourth highest, with 47 percentage points.

Highest disapproval rating

George W. Bush holds the record, with 71% (10/10-12/2008, 4% undecided).
Harry S. Truman is second highest, with 69% (1/6-11/1952, 9% undecided).
Richard Nixon is third highest, with 66% (1/4-7/1974, 10% undecided).
George H.W. Bush is fourth highest, with 60% (7/31-8/2/92, 11% undecided).

Highest average approval rating

John F. Kennedy holds the record, with 70.1%.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt is second highest with 66%*
Dwight D. Eisenhower is third highest, with 65%.
George H. W. Bush is fourth highest, with 60.9%.

Lowest average approval rating

Harry S. Truman holds the record, with 45.4%.
Jimmy Carter is second lowest, with 45.5%.
Gerald Ford is third lowest, with 47.2%.
Richard Nixon is fourth lowest, with 49%.

Graphs

Related concepts

There are several polling concepts related to an approval rating. A disapproval rating measures the number of people who disapprove of a politician, and is essentially the opposite of an approval rating. A net approval rating is the difference between an individual's approval and disapproval numbers. This number is especially useful with individuals who lack name recognition. A candidate which registers 50% undecided, and has a 30% approval versus a 20% disapproval could be judged to have a favorable net approval rating, even though 30% approval looks bad on its own.

There are also favorability rating polls done during a president's tenure that gauge whether people have a favorable impression of the president or not.

See also

• Historical rankings of United States Presidents
• Public image of Barack Obama

References

1. "Presidential Approval Ratings – Barack Obama". www.gallup.com. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
2. ^ http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Job-Approval.aspx
3. ^ "Obama: Job Ratings". www.pollingreport.com. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
4. "President Obama's Approval Ratings (washingtonpost.com)". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
5. "Obama's Ratings Remain High Despite Some Policy Concerns: Overview - Pew Research Center for the People & the Press". people-press.org. The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. 18 June 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
6. Only Gallup polls are reported, which are the only ones available for earlier presidents; the far larger number of polls, using different methods, for recent presidents will result in a wider spread and both higher and lower extremes
7. http://www.gallup.com/poll/116677/Presidential-Approval-Ratings-Gallup-Historical-Statistics-Trends.aspx
8. Average poll numbers are generally not calculated while the President is still in office, as the average is subject to change. These numbers are unavailable elsewhere and therefore are not cited here under Misplaced Pages:No original research.
9. This average is strictly based upon the mathematical average of the highs and lows of Obama based upon the instructions from this source http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HP030561351033.aspx
10. http://www.gallup.com/poll/116500/Presidential-Approval-Ratings-George-Bush.aspx Gallup
11. ^ Presidential approval ratings were started during the presidency of FDR. Therefore, the numbers are incomplete and may not accurately reflect the extremes of public sentiment earlier in his presidency. The cited highs and lows are for the recorded data only. Also, no average is available, presumably because it would be meaningless. Further, although FDR is tied with Eisenhower for the 3rd-highest minimum (48%), "highest minimum" can only be accurately and fairly determined from a President's entire term.
12. "Data Access - Presidential Approval". http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/. Roper Center at UConn. Retrieved 27 July 2009. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
13. This average is strictly based upon the mathematical average of the highs and lows of FDR based upon the instructions from this source http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HP030561351033.aspx and the information currently available on FDR's highs and lows.
14. This average is strictly based upon the mathematical average of the highs and lows of FDR based upon the instructions from this source http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HP030561351033.aspx and the information currently available on FDR's highs and lows.

External links

• Historical Presidential Job Performance Ratings - Roper Center
• Historical Midterm Presidential Approval Ratings Data from Data360
• PollingReport
• Pollster
• RealClearPolitics
• President Job Approval Ratings
• Historical Presidential Approval Ratings 1945-2006 from the Wall Street Journal

• Polling