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. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the George Horace Gallup ( November 18, 1901 – July 26, 1984) was an American pioneer of survey sampling techniques and inventor of the Gallup 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. An opinion poll is a survey of Public opinion from a particular sample. An opinion poll is a survey of Public opinion from a particular sample. 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 politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person A typical question might ask:
- "Which of the following best describes your opinion of the things President George W. Bush has done: strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, strongly disapprove, or no opinion/undecided. "
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.
Contents |
Current President (George W. Bush)
| Polling group's last poll for the President George W. Bush: | ||||
| Polling Group (Alphabetically) | Date | Approval | Disapproval | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABCNews/Washington Post[1] | 5/8-11/2008 | 31% | 66% | 2% |
| American Research Group[2] | 3/16-19/2008 | 24% | 75% | 1% |
| Associated Press/Ipsos[3] | 4/7-9/2008 | 28% | 68% | 4% |
| CBSNews/New York Times[4] | 5/30 -6/3/2008 | 25% | 67% | 8% |
| CNN/Opinion Research[5] | 6/4-5/2008 | 32% | 65% | 2% |
| Diageo/Hotline[6] | 4/30 - 5/3/2008 | 33% | 63% | 4% |
| FOXNews/Opinion Dynamics[7] | 4/28-30/2008 | 32% | 60% | 8% |
| Gallup[8] | 5/30 -6/1/2008 | 28% | 68% | 4% |
| LA Times/Bloomberg[9] | 2/21-25/2008 | 34% | 62% | 4% |
| NBC/Wall Street Journal[10] | 3/7-10/2008 | 27% | 66% | 7% |
| Newsweek[11] | 4/16-17/2008 | 28% | 65% | 7% |
| NPR[12] | 5/7-10/2008 | 33% | 65% | 3% |
| Pew Research[13] | 4/23-27/2008 | 27% | 65% | 8% |
| Quinnipiac[14] | 5/8-12/2008 | 28% | 67% | 5% |
| Rasmussen[15] | 4/9-11/2008 | 35% | 63% | 2% |
| WNBC/Marist[16] | 10/29-11/1/2007 | 34% | 58% | 8% |
| Polling group's graphs of approval rating for the President George W. Bush: | |||
|
Historical comparison
| Historical approval highs and lows for each President since 1937: | ||
| President | Highest Approval | Lowest Approval |
|---|---|---|
| Bush (G.W.) | 92 10/8-9/01,ABC Poll[21] | 19 2/16-19/08, American Research Group poll [22] |
| Clinton | 73 1/28/98 CBS/NYTimes Poll 73 12/19-20/98, USA Today/CNN/ Gallup Poll | 36 5/26-27/93, Yank/Time/CNN Poll |
| Bush (G.H.W.) | 89 2/28/-3/3/91, Gallup Poll | 29 7/31-8/2/92, Gallup Poll |
| Reagan | 68 5/8-11/81, Gallup Poll 68 5/16-19/86, Gallup Poll | 35 1/28-31/83, Gallup Poll |
| Carter | 75 3/18-21/77, Gallup Poll | 28 6/29-7/2/79, Gallup Poll |
| Ford | 74 8/16-19/74, Gallup Poll | 37 1/10-13/75, Gallup Poll 37 3/28-31/75, Gallup Poll |
| Nixon | 67 11/12-17/69, Gallup Poll 67 1/26-29/73, Gallup Poll | 24 7/12-15/1974, Gallup Poll 24 8/2-5/1974, Gallup Poll |
| Johnson | 80 2/28-3/5/64, Gallup Poll | 35 8/7-12/68, Gallup Poll |
| Kennedy | 80 3/8-13/62, Gallup Poll | 56 9/12-17/63, Gallup Poll |
| Eisenhower | 79 12/14-19/56, Gallup Poll | 48 3/27-4/1/58, Gallup Poll |
| Truman | 87 6/1-5/45, Gallup Poll | 22 2/9-14/52, Gallup Poll |
| Roosevelt | 84 1/8-13/42, Gallup Poll | 48 8/18-24/39, Gallup Poll |
Highest approval rating
George W. Bush holds the record with 92%, largely due to the sentiment for American patriotism after the 9/11 attacks (10/8-9/2001 -- after the September 11 attacks). George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. American Research Group Incorporated is an US Opinion polling and Marketing research company based in Manchester New Hampshire. William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19 1946 served as the forty-second President of the United States George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12 1924 served as the forty-first President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 James Earl "Jimmy" Carter Jr (born October 1 1924 was the thirty-ninth President of the United States, serving from 1977 to 1981 and the recipient of the 2002 Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr (July 14 1913 December 26 2006 was the thirty-eighth President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 and the fortieth Vice President John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States.
George H.W. Bush is second highest, with 89% (2/28/-3/3/1991 -- after the Gulf War). George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12 1924 served as the forty-first President of the United States from 1989 to 1993
Harry S. Truman is third highest, with 87% (6/1-5/1945 -- after the End of World War II in Europe). The final battles of the European Theatre of World War II as well as the German surrender took place in late April and early May 1945
Franklin D. Roosevelt is fourth highest, with 84% (1/8-13/1942 -- after the Attack on Pearl Harbor). The attack on Pearl Harbor (or Hawaii Operation, as it was called by the Imperial General Headquarters) was a surprise Military strike conducted by
Lowest approval rating
George W. Bush holds the record at 19% (2/16-19/08 -- during the Iraq War). George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign
Harry S. Truman is the second lowest, at 22% (2/9-14/1952 -- during the Korean War). The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the
Richard Nixon is third lowest, with 24% (7/12-15/1974, 8/2-5/1974 -- during the Watergate scandal). The Watergate scandals were a series of Political scandals during the presidency of Richard Nixon that resulted in the Indictment of several of Nixon's
Jimmy Carter is fourth lowest, with 28% (6/29-7/2/79 -- during the Iran hostage crisis). James Earl "Jimmy" Carter Jr (born October 1 1924 was the thirty-ninth President of the United States, serving from 1977 to 1981 and the recipient of the 2002 The Iran hostage crisis ( Persian: تصرف سفارت آمریکا was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52
Approval rating never below a level during the president term in office
John F. Kennedy holds the record never below 56% (9/12-17/1963, 14% undecided). John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of
Dwight D. Eisenhower is second-equal highest with never below 48% (3/27-4/1/1958, 16% undecided). Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general
Franklin D. Roosevelt is second-equal highest with never below 48% (8/18-24/1939, 8% undecided).
Gerald Ford is fourth highest with never below 37% (3/28-31/1975, 20% undecided). Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr (July 14 1913 December 26 2006 was the thirty-eighth President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 and the fortieth Vice President
Biggest approval rating difference during the president term in office
George W. Bush holds the record with 73 percentage points. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States.
Harry S. Truman is second highest with 65 percentage points.
George H.W. Bush is third highest with 60 percentage points. George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12 1924 served as the forty-first President of the United States from 1989 to 1993
Jimmy Carter is fourth highest with 47 percentage points. James Earl "Jimmy" Carter Jr (born October 1 1924 was the thirty-ninth President of the United States, serving from 1977 to 1981 and the recipient of the 2002
Highest disapproval rating
George W. Bush holds the record with 69% (4/18-20/2008, 4% undecided, Gallup Poll[23]). George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States.
Harry S. Truman is second highest, with 67% (1/6-11/1952, 9% undecided, Gallup Poll).
Richard Nixon is third highest, with 66% (1/4-7/1974, 10% undecided, Gallup Poll).
George H.W. Bush is fourth highest, with 60% (7/31-8/2/92, 11% undecided, Gallup Poll). George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12 1924 served as the forty-first President of the United States from 1989 to 1993
Graphs
| Gallup Poll graphs of approval ratings for former Presidents of the United States: | ||||||||||||
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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. Name recognition is a concept used in Politics to describe number of people who are aware of a Politician. 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.
References
See also
External links
- Historical Presidental Job Performance Ratings - Roper Center
- Historical Midterm Presidential Approval Ratings Data from Data360
- PollingReport
- Pollster
- RealClearPolitics
- President Job Approval Ratings
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