That second term can be a real problem. On May 19, 2005, the Pew Research Center reported that then-President George W. Bush’s popularity was slipping: “Americans are critical of President Bush’s job performance in many policy areas, but negative opinions...
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Photograph by Alex Wong/Getty Images
President Barack Obama, left, and former President George W. Bush arrive at the opening ceremony of the George W. Bush Presidential Center on April 25, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.
Obama’s Second Term vs. Bush’s Second Term: Job Approval #s
Photograph by Pete Marovich/Bloomberg
President Barack Obama departs after speaking to the automatic spending cuts set to kick in.
Obama’s Approval: Sequestered 5%
A couple of things started happening on March 1: – The so-called “sequestration” of Defense and other discretionary federal spending. – A five-point slide in President Barack Obama’s approval ratings. The latest rating of the president’s job performance — 46...
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Photograph by Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
President Barack Obama speaks about gun violence as well as the economy in Chicago on Feb. 15, 2013.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: 55%
That was President Barack Obama’s job approval rating in a Bloomberg National Poll conducted Feb. 15-18. It is the president’s strongest level of support since September 2009, Bloomberg’s Mike Dorning reports. Forty percent disapprove of the job Obama is doing...
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Photograph by Jeff Daly/Invision/AP Photo
Actress Eva Longoria participates in an Early Vote Canvass Kickoff in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: 70
That was President Barack Obama’s job approval rating among Hispanics in January, according to Gallup. The figure is close to the 71 percent support Obama received from Hispanic voters in the 2012 election, according to a national exit poll. Republican...
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Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
A nice way to celebrate the New Year for the President was to jump in the ocean in his native state of Hawaii. He was on his annual Christmas vacation with family and friends, and went swimming at Pyramid Rock Beach in Kaneohe Bay.
Washington, Hawaii: Obama, Thumbs Up — Utah, Wyoming, Thumbs Down
Where is President Barack Obama most popular? In Washington, D.C., and in his birth state of Hawaii. Where is the Democrat least popular? In the mountain states of Utah and Wyoming, and also Sarah Palin’s home state of Alaska. It...
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Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Republican merchandise is set up for sale at the Tampa Bay Times Forum prior to the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Florida on Aug. 25, 2012.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: 33
That’s the percentage of Americans who have a favorable view of the Republican Party, according to the Pew Research Center. The party’s favorable rating fell from 36 percent last month and from 42 percent in mid-September, after the Republican National...
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Photograph by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Speaker of the House John Boehner leaves a House Republican Caucus meeting on Jan. 1, 2013 in Washington.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: 25%
That’s the percentage of Americans who approve of the House speaker’s handling of the fiscal negotiations, according to Gallup. As the 113th Congress is sworn in today, with Republican House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio standing for re-election as leader...
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Photograph by Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Marine One, carrying U.S. President Barack Obama and the First Family leave for Hawaii for their Christmas break.
Obama’s Pre-Holiday Approval: 57% — Post-Holiday Pre-Cliff: 56%
Updated at 3:30 pm EST Something has happened to President Barack Obama’s approval rating since Election Day, in the midst of an apparently intractable dispute with the House’s Republicans over taxes and spending and in the aftermath of one of...
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Photograph by Olivier Douliery/Pool via Bloomberg
President Barack Obama attends a memorial service for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 16, 2012.
Obama’s Approval at 56 Percent: Three-Year High, Post-Newtown
For all that’s happened lately, President Barack Obama has something going for him that he hasn’t seen in three years: 56 percent public approval for the job he’s performing. The Gallup tracking of the president’s job approval comes in at...
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Photograph by Scott Olson/Getty Images
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn looks over a drought-damaged ear of corn on the farm of Jerry Kitowski on July 16, 2012 in Waltonville, Illinois.
Quinn Defends 25%: Bloomberg Bkfst
Unlike his two immediate predecessors, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn isn’t in prison. Still, staying out of legal trouble hasn’t helped the Democrat’s approval ratings. In a Public Policy Polling survey released late last month, Quinn’s job approval rating stood at...
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Contributors
-
Al Hunt
is a columnist for Bloomberg View and host of the weekly show "Political Capital with Al Hunt" on Bloomberg TV. -
Mark Silva
is deputy managing editor for government news in Washington and editor of Political Capital. He has covered the White House and national politics. -
Emma Fidel
is political editor for Bloomberg.com in Washington. She previously covered financial regulation as a Bloomberg intern. -
Don Frederick
edits political and government coverage for Bloomberg News. He previously worked for more than a decade at the Los Angeles Times' Washington bureau. -
Gregory Giroux
analyzes elections, financing of congressional and presidential elections, political advertising and demographics in Bloomberg's Washington Bureau. -
Julie Bykowicz
covers the influence of money and lobbying in Washington, and covered the state legislature and city crime for the Baltimore Sun for 10 years. -
Jonathan Salant
covers campaign finance and lobbying in Washington. He was president of the National Press Club and started in Washington in 1987. -
Richard Rubin
covers federal tax policy. He worked at Congressional Quarterly and The Charlotte Observer before joining Bloomberg News in 2010. -
Julie Hirschfeld Davis
is a senior political reporter for the Washington Bureau. She covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News and previously covered the White House for the Baltimore Sun. -
Lisa Lerer
covers the White House and covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News. She covered Congress, lobbying and the 2008 campaign for Politico. -
John McCormick
is a national political reporter looking forward to the 2016 presidential campaign, which will be the fifth he's covered. He's also reported for The Des Moines Register and Chicago Tribune. -
Julianna Goldman
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Hans Nichols
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Margaret Talev
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and covered the White House for McClatchy Newspapers. She has covered California and Florida politics. -
Cary O'Reilly
is Editor at Large at Bloomberg First Word and is Washington Daybook columnist for Bloomberg Government and Bloomberg News.
