Obama Exactly as Popular as Bush Sr.

[silverscreenselect]

According to the new Gallup Poll, Obama's popularity rating is at 63%, exactly the same as George Bush Sr. at this point in his Presidency and only one point better than George W. Bush. It's also behind the popularity of Kennedy,Carter, and Eisenhower and slightly ahead of Nixon.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articl ... monge.html

The totals for elected presidents at the end of February since the inauguration was moved to Jan 20:

Obama = 63
Bush = 62
Clinton =58
Bush = 63
Reagan = 60
Carter = 71
Ford N/A
Nixon = 60
LBJ N/A
Kennedy =73
Eisenhower = 72
Truman N/A

Truman, Johnson, and Ford did not take office via the normal electoral process and are excluded (Truman and Johnson had very high ratings and Ford low ratings, in part due to the circumstances under which they took office).

Translation: Regardless of party affiliation, a newly elected president gets generally good ratings for various reasons. Obama is not some incredibly gifted politician/leader who has managed to transcend normal politics; his ratings are politics as usual for this time in his term.

[smilergrogan]

According to the new Gallup Poll, Obama's popularity rating is at 63%, exactly the same as George Bush Sr. at this point in his Presidency and only one point better than George W. Bush. It's also behind the popularity of Kennedy,Carter, and Eisenhower and slightly ahead of Nixon.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articl ... monge.html

The totals for elected presidents at the end of February since the inauguration was moved to Jan 20:

Obama = 63
Bush = 62
Clinton =58
Bush = 63
Reagan = 60
Carter = 71
Ford N/A
Nixon = 60
LBJ N/A
Kennedy =73
Eisenhower = 72
Truman N/A

Truman, Johnson, and Ford did not take office via the normal electoral process and are excluded (Truman and Johnson had very high ratings and Ford low ratings, in part due to the circumstances under which they took office).

Translation: Regardless of party affiliation, a newly elected president gets generally good ratings for various reasons. Obama is not some incredibly gifted politician/leader who has managed to transcend normal politics; his ratings are politics as usual for this time in his term.

True, but normally the nation's economy is not as deeply in the tank as now. Surely that has a significant effect on the ratings.

[Jeemie]

True, but normally the nation's economy is not as deeply in the tank as now. Surely that has a significant effect on the ratings.

The economy was pretty badly in the tank, and had been for a couple of years, when Reagan took office.

Additionally, then as now, America's worldwide prestige was at an ebb as well.

[TheCalvinator24]

I think that right now, there is a built-in "dislike" for a President of about 35-38%. So, the best one should expect for any new President is 65% approval.

The built-in approval is also in that 35-38% range, and I think the 24-30% "in the middle" are generally willing to give a new President the benefit of the doubt unless he makes a major blunder in the first month. Even though I think the bailout is a big blunder, I can recognize that most people approve of the government doing "something" about the economy.

[sunflower]

It's only been a month. I don't think you can judge someone at a month and give any credibility for the number. People voted for him, so they obviously thought he was the best choice - so they will be pleased until he does something to specifically displease them. And I didn't vote for him, but I'm not going to say anything negative this early - because he hasn't done anything significant, good or bad, that we can measure yet - so if someone asked me if I approved or not and those were the only two choices, I'd say I approve. It's relatively meaningless to me this early in the game.

[NellyLunatic1980]

It's only been a month. I don't think you can judge someone at a month and give any credibility for the number. People voted for him, so they obviously thought he was the best choice - so they will be pleased until he does something to specifically displease them. And I didn't vote for him, but I'm not going to say anything negative this early - because he hasn't done anything significant, good or bad, that we can measure yet - so if someone asked me if I approved or not and those were the only two choices, I'd say I approve. It's relatively meaningless to me this early in the game.

Try telling that to the people at the Ministry of Truth--I mean, FOX News.

[silverscreenselect]

True, but normally the nation's economy is not as deeply in the tank as now. Surely that has a significant effect on the ratings.

The economy was pretty badly in the tank, and had been for a couple of years, when Reagan took office.

Additionally, then as now, America's worldwide prestige was at an ebb as well.

And Nixon and Eisenhower took office during unpopular wars (plus Nixon had a big PR problem in general when he took office).

[smilergrogan]

Another important factor that seems evident is that people in general seem more likely to express disapproval of a new president now than in the past. With the exception of Nixon, only the last five presidents are below 70. I think it's all these reality shows, judge shows, talk shows, etc. which encourage viewers to make snap judgments.

[lilclyde54]

I agree with the Calvinator

[etaoin22]

Nixon had a good first month in office, in that he was not Lyndon Johnson. He was also organized enough that he could and did introduce his cabinet nominees, full of extra dimensions, live on TV IIRC in MID-DECEMBER. (these days one wouldn't have even begun to sort out the nannies and the tax returns). From outside your country he didn't look so great, but still, compared to an election decided in the House, which could have happened, he looked good.