Jonathan Bernstein writes today that President Obama’s approval rating has pulled ahead of George Bush’s approval rating at this point in his presidency. “This is not to say Obama is doing well,” he warns. “Unless his recent improvement gathers steam, he’s going to be a drag on Democrats in November, though he won’t be as big a drag as Bush was for his party in the 2006 midterms.”
This prompted me to click the link and check out Obama’s approval rating in the HuffPollster’s polling average. This may not be a surprise to any of you, but I don’t follow Obama’s polls very closely and I was a bit startled by how consistent his ratings have been. The chart below shows Obama’s average approval over the past four years. It hovers around 47 percent, and it hasn’t moved more than four points above or below that in the entire time. Right now he’s about three points below his long-term mean, and as usual, he’s reverting to it after sinking a bit during his annus horribilis of 2013.
I don’t really have a point to make here. I’m just surprised that his numbers have been so steady for so long, so I thought I’d share.
