|
June 22, 2009
Obama Job Disapproval Jumps A total of 41% of Americans say they
disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president, which is up from 32% in
May, according
to the
latest survey
from the American Research
Group. Overall, 57% of Americans say they approve of the way
Obama
is handling his job as president. When it comes
to Obama's handling of the economy, 48% of Americans approve
and 47% disapprove.
Among
Americans registered to vote, 56% approve
of the way Obama is handling his job as president and 42% disapprove.
On Obama's handling of the economy,
48% of registered voters approve and 47% disapprove. Among
independent voters, 47% approve of the way Obama is handling his job and 48% disapprove. In
May, 57% of independents approved and 42% disapproved. As for Obama's handling of the economy,
36% of independents approve and 59% disapprove, compared to 55% approve and 41% disapprove
among independents in May. The
results
presented here
are based on
1,100 completed telephone interviews conducted among a nationwide
random sample of adults 18
years and older. The interviews were completed June 18
through 21, 2009. The theoretical
margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 2.6 percentage
points, 95% of the time,
on questions where opinion is evenly split.
Overall, 57% of Americans say that they
approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president,
41% disapprove, and 2% are undecided.
|
Obama job approval
|
Approve
|
Disapprove
|
Undecided
|
|
| Jun
2009 |
57% |
41% |
2% |
| May 2009 |
61% |
32% |
7% |
| Apr
2009 |
57% |
38% |
5% |
| Mar 2009 |
56% |
37% |
7% |
| Feb 2009 |
60% |
33% |
7% |
|
George
W. Bush:
Jan 2009 |
38% |
54% |
8% |
| Dec
2008 |
28% |
67% |
5% |
| Nov 2008 |
26% |
67% |
7% |
| Oct
2008 |
20% |
75% |
5% |
| Sep 2008 |
19% |
76% |
5% |
| Aug
2008 |
30% |
64% |
6% |
| Jul 2008 |
21% |
72% |
7% |
| Jun
2008 |
25% |
71% |
4% |
Among Republicans (31% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 21%
approve of the way Obama is handling his job and 78% disapprove.
Among Democrats (41% of adults registered to vote in the survey),
89% approve
and 10% disapprove of the way Obama is handling
his job. Among independents (28% of adults registered to vote
in the survey), 47%
approve and 48% disapprove of the way Obama is handling his
job as president.
Overall, 48% of Americans
say that they
approve
of the way Barack Obama is handling the economy, 46% disapprove,
and 6% are undecided.
Among registered voters, 48% approve and 47% disapprove
of
the way Obama is handling the economy.
|
Obama handling the economy
|
Approve
|
Disapprove
|
Undecided
|
|
| Jun 2009 |
48% |
46% |
6% |
| May 2009 |
59% |
35% |
6% |
| Apr 2009 |
50% |
43% |
7% |
| Mar 2009 |
49% |
44% |
7% |
| Feb 2009 |
55% |
39% |
6% |
|
George
W. Bush:
Jan 2009 |
31% |
58% |
11% |
| Dec 2008 |
24% |
72% |
4% |
| Nov 2008 |
23% |
70% |
7% |
| Oct 2008 |
20% |
77% |
3% |
| Sep 2008 |
17% |
78% |
5% |
| Aug 2008 |
25% |
69% |
6% |
| Jul 2008 |
17% |
77% |
6% |
| Jun 2008 |
23% |
73% |
4% |
Among Republicans, 14% approve of the way Obama is handling the economy and
79% disapprove. Among
Democrats, 81% approve of the way Obama is handling the economy
and 14% disapprove.
Among independents, 36% approve and 59%
disapprove of the way Obama is handling the economy.
A total of 33% of Americans say that the national
economy is
getting
better, 22% say it is staying the same, and 44% say
the national economy is getting worse.
|
National economy |
Getting better |
Staying the same |
Getting worse |
Undecided |
|
| Jun 2009 |
33% |
22% |
44% |
1% |
| May 2009 |
23% |
43% |
28% |
6% |
| Apr 2009 |
26% |
36% |
37% |
1% |
| Mar 2009 |
20% |
37% |
40% |
3% |
| Feb 2009 |
4% |
28% |
63% |
5% |
| Jan 2009 |
3% |
32% |
59% |
6% |
| Dec 2008 |
9% |
28% |
59% |
4% |
| Nov 2008 |
15% |
18% |
65% |
2% |
| Oct 2008 |
6% |
26% |
54% |
14% |
| Sep 2008 |
- |
13% |
82% |
5% |
| Aug 2008 |
18% |
19% |
60% |
3% |
| Jul 2008 |
3% |
20% |
76% |
1% |
| Jun 2008 |
7% |
18% |
73% |
2% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 567% say getting better, 30% say staying
the same, and 13% say getting worse. Of those saying
they
disapprove of the way Obama
is handling his job, 1% say getting better, 12% say staying
the same, and 86% say getting worse.
A total
of 51% of Americans say they believe
the national economy will be better a year from now, 21% say
it will be the same, 27% say
it will be worse, and 1% are undecided.
|
National economy a year from now |
Better than today |
The same as today |
Worse than today |
Undecided |
|
| Jun 2009 |
51% |
21% |
27% |
1% |
| May 2009 |
62% |
14% |
23% |
1% |
| Apr 2009 |
60% |
12% |
24% |
4% |
| Mar 2009 |
53% |
22% |
19% |
6% |
| Feb 2009 |
47% |
24% |
24% |
5% |
| Jan 2009 |
49% |
28% |
20% |
3% |
| Dec 2008 |
59% |
22% |
14% |
5% |
| Nov 2008 |
54% |
27% |
17% |
2% |
| Oct 2008 |
56% |
21% |
20% |
3% |
| Sep 2008 |
42% |
27% |
13% |
18% |
| Aug 2008 |
31% |
34% |
28% |
7% |
| Jul 2008 |
29% |
17% |
39% |
15% |
| Jun 2008 |
24% |
31% |
39% |
6% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama is handling his job, 81% say better,
17% say the same as today, and 1% say worse than today.
Among those saying they disapprove of the way Obama is handling
his job as president, 13% say better, 28% say the same, and
58%
say worse.
Overall, 67% of Americans say they believe
that the national economy
is in a recession, 21% say they
do
not believe the economy is in
a recession, and 12% are undecided.
| National economy in a recession
|
Yes
|
No
|
Undecided
|
|
| Jun 2009 |
67% |
21% |
12% |
| May 2009 |
86% |
8% |
6% |
| Apr 2009 |
70% |
18% |
12% |
| Mar 2009 |
83% |
8% |
9% |
| Feb 2009 |
85% |
5% |
10% |
| Jan 2009 |
80% |
13% |
7% |
| Dec 2008 |
76% |
9% |
15% |
| Nov 2008 |
74% |
13% |
13% |
| Oct 2008 |
54% |
10% |
36% |
| Sep 2008 |
68% |
28% |
4% |
| Aug 2008 |
58% |
30% |
12% |
| Jul 2008 |
68% |
15% |
17% |
| Jun 2008 |
52% |
22% |
26% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 59% say the national economy is in a
recession and 26% say the national economy is not in
a recession.
Of those saying they disapprove of the way Obama is handling
his job, 776% say the national economy
is in a recession and 15% say the national economy is not
in
a recession.
A
total of 35% of Americans rate
the national economy as excellent, very good, or good and 64%
rate it as
bad, very bad, or terrible.
|
National economy |
Excellent |
Very good |
Good |
Bad |
Very bad |
Terrible |
Undecided |
|
| Jun 2009 |
3% |
13% |
19% |
30% |
14% |
20% |
1% |
| May 2009 |
1% |
3% |
13% |
48% |
19% |
15% |
1% |
| Apr 2009 |
2% |
2% |
13% |
42% |
26% |
14% |
1% |
| Mar 2009 |
7% |
3% |
6% |
34% |
24% |
25% |
1% |
| Feb 2009 |
2% |
2% |
8% |
31% |
25% |
31% |
1% |
| Jan 2009 |
1% |
3% |
12% |
35% |
16% |
32% |
1% |
| Dec 2008 |
3% |
2% |
8% |
34% |
18% |
34% |
1% |
| Nov 2008 |
1% |
1% |
16% |
26% |
19% |
36% |
1% |
| Oct 2008 |
2% |
2% |
16% |
50% |
11% |
18% |
1% |
| Sep 2008 |
2% |
4% |
12% |
10% |
7% |
64% |
1% |
| Aug 2008 |
8% |
12% |
22% |
24% |
11% |
22% |
1% |
| Jul 2008 |
3% |
3% |
18% |
34% |
29% |
12% |
1% |
| Jun 2008 |
2% |
4% |
18% |
28% |
23% |
24% |
1% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 62% say excellent, very good, or good
and 27% say bad, very bad, or terrible.
Among
those saying they
disapprove of the way Obama
is handling his job, 3% say excellent, very good, or good
and 96% say bad, very bad, or terrible.
When
it comes to rating their household
financial situations, 77% of Americans give an excellent, very
good, or good rating and 22%
give a bad, very bad, or terrible rating.
|
Household financial situation |
Excellent |
Very good |
Good |
Bad |
Very bad |
Terrible |
Undecided |
|
| Jun 2009 |
8% |
19% |
50% |
13% |
4% |
5% |
1% |
| May 2009 |
6% |
17% |
40% |
20% |
12% |
4% |
1% |
| Apr 2009 |
6% |
14% |
48% |
19% |
6% |
6% |
1% |
| Mar 2009 |
6% |
14% |
51% |
18% |
6% |
4% |
1% |
| Feb 2009 |
6% |
17% |
48% |
19% |
7% |
2% |
1% |
| Jan 2009 |
1% |
20% |
46% |
24% |
6% |
2% |
1% |
| Dec 2008 |
4% |
10% |
51% |
19% |
7% |
8% |
1% |
| Nov 2008 |
7% |
13% |
37% |
29% |
4% |
9% |
1% |
| Oct 2008 |
10% |
5% |
31% |
28% |
22% |
3% |
1% |
| Sep 2008 |
9% |
9% |
39% |
26% |
15% |
2% |
- |
| Aug 2008 |
11% |
20% |
39% |
17% |
6% |
6% |
1% |
| Jul 2008 |
6% |
7% |
44% |
24% |
17% |
1% |
1% |
| Jun 2008 |
2% |
11% |
42% |
34% |
3% |
7% |
1% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 84% say excellent, very good, or good
and 15% say bad, very bad, or terrible.
Among those saying they disapprove
of the way Obama is handling his job, 70% say very
good,
or good and 29% say
bad, very bad, or terrible.
A total of 11% of Americans say
they think the financial situations
in their households are getting better, 67% say staying the
same, and 20% say getting worse.
|
Household financial situation |
Getting better |
Staying the same |
Getting worse |
Undecided |
|
| Jun 2009 |
11% |
67% |
20% |
2% |
| May 2009 |
7% |
68% |
24% |
1% |
| Apr 2009 |
13% |
58% |
27% |
2% |
| Mar 2009 |
7% |
55% |
31% |
7% |
| Feb 2009 |
8% |
52% |
36% |
4% |
| Jan
2009 |
2% |
54% |
43% |
1% |
| Dec 2008 |
5% |
50% |
41% |
4% |
| Nov 2008 |
10% |
35% |
51% |
4% |
| Oct 2008 |
5% |
47% |
32% |
16% |
| Sep 2008 |
- |
56% |
42% |
2% |
| Aug 2008 |
19% |
42% |
36% |
3% |
| Jul 2008 |
7% |
31% |
61% |
1% |
| Jun 2008 |
4% |
40% |
55% |
1% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 16% say getting better, 73% say staying
the same, and 11% say getting worse. Among those saying
they disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job, 5% say
getting better, 59% say
staying the same, and 31% say getting worse.
Looking
to a year from now, 36%
of Americans say that they think their household financial
situations will be better than today, 36% say the same as today,
and 22% say worse than today.
|
Household financial situation a year from now |
Better than today |
The same as today |
Worse than today |
Undecided |
|
| Jun 2009 |
36% |
36% |
22% |
6% |
| May 2009 |
31% |
49% |
18% |
2% |
| Apr 2009 |
37% |
44% |
7% |
12% |
| Mar 2009 |
35% |
44% |
15% |
6% |
| Feb 2009 |
38% |
40% |
19% |
3% |
| Jan
2009 |
38% |
45% |
12% |
5% |
| Dec 2008 |
36% |
44% |
15% |
5% |
| Nov 2008 |
40% |
34% |
21% |
5% |
| Oct 2008 |
26% |
43% |
15% |
16% |
| Sep 2008 |
39% |
37% |
15% |
9% |
| Aug 2008 |
30% |
42% |
24% |
4% |
| Jul 2008 |
17% |
41% |
30% |
12% |
| Jun 2008 |
21% |
34% |
37% |
8% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 49% say better than today, 40% say
the same as today, and 8% say worse than today. Among those
saying they disapprove of the
way Obama is handling his job, 20% say better than today, 31%
say
the same as today, and 38% say worse than today.
About this Survey -
Survey Sponsor: American Research Group, Inc. The American Research Group has been conducting national surveys of consumers since 1985. Sample
Size: 1,100 completed telephone interviews among a random sample of all adults age 18 and older
living in telephone households in the continental United States. Sample
Dates: June 18-21, 2009 Margin of Error: ± 3 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split. Question
Wording and Order:
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack
Obama is handling his job as president? Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack
Obama is handling the economy?
How do you rate the condition of the national
economy these days - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible? Do you think the national economy is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse? Would you say that the national economy is in a recession, or not? A year from now, do you expect the national economy to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today? How do you rate the condition of the financial
situation in your household - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad,
or terrible? Do you think the financial situation in your household is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse? A year from now, do you expect the financial situation in your household to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today? |
