Obama More Popular Than Reagan or Clinton

President Obama’s most recent approval rating on Gallup is 47%. This is certainly not a great approval rating, but it’s also not particularly bad.

I think it’s definitely worth putting it into context. This 47% mark actually compares favorably to where Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were at when they were at the same point in their Presidency (in 1982 and 1994 respectively.) They were both at 44%. As you probably know, they both went on to win reelection by large margins (in 1984 and 1996 respectively.)

My point is that it’s far too early to be counting out President Obama. 2012 is still a long ways off and a lot can happen between now and then.

And considering the popularity of our last President (George W. Bush reached 25% in 2008) 47% doesn’t seem too bad. Speaking of Bush, Presidential historians recently named him the worst modern President and the 5th worst of all time.