Good President according to the majority of Americans


Barack Obama leaves office Friday with six-in-10 Americans approving of his job performance, capping a steady rise that vaults him above the average final mark for modern presidents, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds.

Obama's high-note finish comes with plenty of dissonance, including persistent pessimism about the nation's direction and deep divisions after Donald Trump's victory in last year's presidential race after campaigning strongly against Obama's policies.

Yet Americans grew significantly more positive about Obama's presidency through the acidic 2016 campaign as perceptions of the economy improved. The president's approval ratings were underwater in July 2015, when 45 percent approved and 50 percent disapproved of his performance. But his overall approval grew a steady 50 percent by January of 2016, and rose again to 56 percent in June, never falling below the mid-50s through the fall campaign.

The latest Post-ABC poll shows Obama hitting 60 percent approval with 38 percent disapproving — his highest mark since June of his first year in office, when 65 percent approved of him. The latest poll finds 61 percent approve of Obama's handling of the economy, while a smaller 53 percent approve how he has handled the threat of terrorism and 52 percent rate him positively for handling health care.



Partisanship was the principal factor in ratings of Obama throughout his presidency, with Republicans souring on his performance by his second month in office and Democrats widely approving throughout his two terms. Independents are largely responsible for Obama's strong finish, with approval climbing from 44 percent at the start of 2016 to 61 percent in the latest poll.



Another factor which may have boosted Obama: the improvement in ratings of the national economy.

Only 5 percent of Americans said the economy was “excellent” or “good” when Obama took the oath of office, and this number did not grow beyond 20 percent during his first term. But in the last few years, the share of Americans with positive ratings of the economy has more than doubled to 51 percent in this month's survey, their highest level tracked by Post-ABC polls during his tenure. Very few say the economy is in excellent condition (6 percent) and nearly half rate it negatively. But the share of people saying the economy is poor has dropped from 62 percent in early 2009 to 14 percent today.



How Obama's ratings stack up historically

Obama's final job approval mark is well above the 50 percent average for presidents from Franklin Roosevelt onward, and nearly twice as large as his immediate predecessor George W. Bush's 33 percent approval as he left office in 2009.

Roosevelt, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan all held higher approval marks in final polls while in office than Obama does today. Dwight Eisenhower also held a slightly more positive image than Obama, with disapproval 10 points lower than Obama's despite trailing the current president by 1 point in positive marks. Besides Bush, Obama's final rating is clearly higher than George H.W. Bush, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Harry Truman and Richard Nixon.

Obama's closest analog is Gerald Ford, whose 53-32 approve-disapprove rating (+21) closely resembles Obama's +22 margin of approval and disapproval.



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Obama climbs to 60 percent approval in final presidential approval rating, Post-ABC poll finds

Doesn't matter Mikeyy.

He is leaving the office 12:00 noon this Friday.

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I am going to hang a Batman Costume in my closet. .......... Just to screw with myself when I get alzheimer's.
sola gratia, sola fide, sola scriptura.

I AM NOT A REPUBLICAN, I AM A FREEMAN, THE DEMOCRATS WORST NIGHTMARE

I saw a rainbow-colored unicorn today. Wow. High approval ratings plus a unicorn. Two mythical things at once.

Yes, He is leaving a winner and cheeto is entering a loser dropping in the polls.

After Trump won, we don't give a sh1t about left winger polls!!

Besides that we just proved with Trump they are less than accurate...

Regards, Kirk

Yes... with Trump you have proven your capacity for lying, accepting lying, encouraging lying, and committing high treason by siding with the Russians.

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Continue that line of reasoning, Muffin... I'm judging you. Harshly.

Smells like drama queen bullshlt to me.