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Topics At A Glance: Presidential Approval

Nixon and Vietnam

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I'm going to read you some things President Nixon has done or been identified with. Regardless of your overall opinions about Nixon, for each one would you tell me if you approve of President Nixon's position, don't approve of it, or have no opinion?...His handling of the war in Vietnam
Roper Report 73-9, [Sep, 1973]




How would you rate President Nixon on...Bringing the war in Vietnam to a close--excellent, pretty good, only fair, or poor?
Harris Survey, [Apr, 1973]




How would you rate President Nixon on...Bringing the POW's (prisoners of war) home from Vietnam--excellent, pretty good, only fair, or poor?
Harris Survey, [Apr, 1973]



Johnson and Vietnam

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DO YOU APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF THE WAY PRESIDENT JOHNSON IS HANDLING THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM?
Gallup Poll (AIPO), [May, 1968]




DO YOU APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF THE WAY PRESIDENT JOHNSON IS HANDLING THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM?
Gallup Poll (AIPO), [Apr, 1968]




DO YOU APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF THE WAY PRESIDENT JOHNSON IS HANDLING THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM?
Gallup Poll (AIPO), [Feb, 1968]



Barack Obama and Foreign Affairs

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(After the (2012 presidential) election, the president (Barack Obama) and the new leaders of the Congress are going to discuss what to do about the economy and budget. I'm going to read you some pairs of statements. For each pair, please tell me whether the first statement or the second statement comes closer to your own view, even if neither is exactly right.)...First statement: Slashing spending now is short-sighted. It will cost millions of jobs, force cuts in schools, child nutrition and Medicare and Social Security benefits. Our children will find jobs harder to find, and will lose skills vital to compete in global economy. And more people out of work will make it harder to reduce the deficit. Second statement: Spending and adding to the deficit is short-sighted. Eventually, our credit rating will fall, interest rates will go up, and our economy will slow. Our children will be left with a higher debt burden, deeper in debt to foreign creditors, and more difficult for future generations to compete in the global economy....(If First/Second statement, ask:) (Is that strongly or not strongly?)
%
33     First statement strongly
12     First statement not strongly
13     Second statement not strongly
32     Second statement strongly
3     Both (Vol.)
4     Neither (Vol.)
4     Don't know/Refused
Sample: National voters
Note: Asked of Form A half sample
Democracy Corps/Campaign for America's Future Poll, [Nov, 2012]




(Now, I would like to read you a list of issues that some people have said are important to them. Please listen as I read the list and tell me, for each one, who will better handle this issue--Mitt Romney or Barack Obama.)...Foreign policy
Sample: National likely voters
Politico/George Washington University Battleground Brushfire 2012 Survey, [Nov, 2012]




Who do you trust more to handle foreign policy--Mitt Romney or Barack Obama?
Sample: National likely voters
Monmouth University Poll, [Nov, 2012]



Other Presidents and Foreign Affairs

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Do you generally approve or disapprove of the job that George W. Bush is doing in handling foreign policy?
Note: Asked of Form A half sample
NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll, [Dec, 2008]




Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling foreign policy?
Note: Registered voters
CBS News/New York Times Poll, [Sep, 2008]




Do you generally approve or disapprove of the job that George W. Bush is doing in handling foreign policy?
Sample: National registered voters with an oversample of Hispanics
Note: Asked of Form A half sample
NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll, [Aug, 2008]



Barack Obama and Economy

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Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling the economy?
American Research Group Poll, [Nov, 2012]




Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling the economy? (If Approve/Disapprove, ask:) Would that be strongly approve/disapprove, or just somewhat approve/disapprove?
Sample: National registered voters who voted in the 2012 presidential election
Resurgent Republic Survey, [Nov, 2012]




I am going to read you two issues. For each one, please tell me if you approve or disapprove of the job that President (Barack) Obama is doing on this issue....The economy...(If Approve/Disapprove, ask:) Is that strongly approve/disapprove or somewhat approve/disapprove?
Sample: National likely voters
Politico/George Washington University Battleground Brushfire 2012 Survey, [Nov, 2012]



Other Presidents and the Economy

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Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the economy?
American Research Group Poll, [Jan, 2009]




Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush has handled the economy during the last eight years?
CBS News/New York Times Poll, [Jan, 2009]




Do you approve or disapprove of the way (George W.) Bush is handling the economy? (If Approve/Disapprove, ask:) Do you approve/disapprove strongly or somewhat?
ABC News/Washington Post Poll, [Dec, 2008]



Barack Obama and Health

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(Do you approve or disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing on the following issues?)...Health care
Sample: National registered voters
Fox News Poll, [Oct, 2012]




(Do you approve or disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing on the following issues?)...Health care
Sample: National registered voters
Fox News Poll, [Sep, 2012]




(Do you approve, disapprove, or neither approve nor disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling each of the following issues?...Strongly approve, somewhat approve, neither approve nor disapprove, somewhat disapprove, strongly disapprove)...Health care
Associated Press/Gfk Knowledge Networks Poll, [Aug, 2012]



Other Presidents and Health

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Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling...health care policy?
Gallup Poll, [Feb, 2008]




Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling health care?
CBS News Poll, [Oct, 2007]




Do you approve or disapprove of the way (George W.) Bush is handling...health care?
Note: Asked of Form 1 half sample
ABC News/Washington Post Poll, [Sep, 2007]



Barack Obama and the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

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(Do you approve, disapprove, or neither approve nor disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling each of the following issues?...Strongly approve, somewhat approve, neither approve nor disapprove, somewhat disapprove, strongly disapprove)...The situation in Afghanistan
Associated Press/Gfk Knowledge Networks Poll, [Aug, 2012]




Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling the situation with Afghanistan?
CBS News Poll, [Aug, 2012]




(When it comes to the following issues, please tell me what grade you would give President (Barack) Obama for his performance. Let's use the same grades they use in school--A, B, C, D, or F.) What grade would you give President Obama for his performance when it comes to...the war in Iraq?
Ipsos-Public Affairs/Reuters Poll, [Jul, 2012]



George W. Bush and the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

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Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush has handled the situation with Iraq during the last eight years?
CBS News/New York Times Poll, [Jan, 2009]




In general, do you approve or disapprove of the job that George W. Bush is doing in handling the situation in Iraq?
Note: Asked of Form B half sample
NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll, [Dec, 2008]




(Do you approve or disapprove of the job President (George W.) Bush is doing in each of these areas?)...Handling the situation in Iraq
Time/Abt SRBI Poll, [Jul, 2008]



From the Archives


Do you approve or disapprove of the way Ronald Reagan is handling his job as president?
Gallup Poll, [Oct, 1985]




Do you approve or disapprove of the way (President) Bush has handled the economy?
ABC News/Washington Post Poll, [Dec, 1992]




Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?
Gallup/USA Today Poll, [Nov, 2006]



Presidential Approval Ratings

Presidential Approval Ratings

Compare current trends to other presidents as far back as Roosevelt and Truman.


Most Important Problem Facing the Country

Economy in general
Blue bar 30%
Unemployment/Jobs
Blue bar 20%
Dissatisfaction with government/Congress/politicians/Poor leadership/Corruption/Abuse of power
Blue bar 15%
Federal budget deficit/Federal debt
Blue bar 11%
Poor healthcare/hospitals/High cost of healthcare
Blue bar 5%
Lack of money
Blue bar 4%

Note: Top specific responses only shown.
Gallup Poll, [Nov, 2012]
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2
3
4

Today's Number
15%
answered Strongly approve when asked "(And please tell me if you approve, disapprove or neither approve nor disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling each of the following issues.) How about...energy? (If Approve/Disapprove, ask:) Strongly or somewhat? (If Neither/Don't know/Refused, ask:) If you had to choose, do you lean more toward approving or disapproving of the way Barack Obama is handling...energy?"
Associated Press/Gfk Poll, [Dec, 2011]


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Other Topics at a Glance:
Congressional Approval
Economy
Health Care
Immigration
Role of Government
Taxes
more topics...



Quick Dataset Search

RoperExpress logo ABC News/Washington Post Poll [Sep, 2003]

RoperExpress logo Associated Press/Ipsos-Public Affairs Poll [Jan, 2006]

RoperExpress logo PIPA/Knowledge Networks Poll [May, 2003]

more datasets...