Obama Starts Year at 50 Percent Approval, Lower Than Most of His Predecessors

President Obama is about to start his second year in office with his job approval rating at 50 percent, a long way from the 68 percent he enjoyed when he was sworn in and the second lowest of all presidents since Dwight Eisenhower at the start of their second year, according to a Gallup poll conducted Jan. 2-4.

Measured against the 50 percent who approve of Obama's performance, 44 percent disapprove.

The only president during the time of Gallup's polling who had lower job approval ratings at this point was Ronald Reagan, who began his second year in the midst of what was then considered the worst recession since the Depression, not unlike the position Obama has found himself in. Reagan's approval rating was 49 percent with 40 percent disapproving of his performance.

During that downturn near the beginning of Reagan's first term, the number of unemployed peaked at 9 million toward the end of 1982. In November of last year, 15.4 million were jobless, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The highest job approval ratings at the beginning of a second year were notched by George H.W. Bush at 84 percent, the second George Bush at 80 percent and John F. Kennedy at 79 percent.

Obama's approval rating is highest in the mid-Atlantic states and New England (58 percent and 56 percent, respectively) and lowest in the Rocky Mountain region (35 percent), Southwest (45 percent) and Southeast (48 percent). Demographically, he does best among women 18 to 49 years old (58 percent) and worst among men 50 and older, who disapprove of his performance by a 55 percent to 41 percent margin.

"Given the speed at which Obama descended to this level in his first year, today it is more of a warning light that this initially muscular administration remains on the threshold of losing majority support," said Gallup. "At the same time, 50% is symbolically superior to 49%, and perhaps offers some encouragement to Obama's supporters that 2010 will bring some improvement in how Americans perceive the president."