Obama Full-Month Approval in August Falls to Lowest of His Presidency

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/obama_approval_index_month_by_month

When tracking President Obama’s job approval on a daily basis, people sometimes get so caught up in the day-to-day fluctuations that they miss the bigger picture. To look at the longer-term trends, Rasmussen Reports compiles the numbers on a full-month basis, and the results can be seen in the graphics below.
In August, the number who Strongly Approve of Obama’s job performance was at 21%.  That’s down three points from 24% in July and the lowest level measured during Obama's entire presidency.  The previous low was 23% reached in both April and June of this year.

Since July 2009, the number who Strongly Approved of the president’s performance has now ranged from a low of 21% to a high of 31%.  By comparison, 43% Strongly Approved of Obama's performance in January 2009.

The number of voters who Strongly Disapprove of the president’s performance increased a point from July to 42% in August.  The number of voters who Strongly Disapproved has ranged from 37% to 44% since July 2009.

The full-month Presidential Approval Index rating for August is down four points from July to -21.  That’s by far Obama's lowest full-month approval index rating since taking office in January 2009.  Prior to this survey, Obama’s lowest level of approval was -17, reached three times since January 2009.  With a few exceptions, the president’s approval index rating has stayed between -14 and -17 since the beginning of 2010.

The full-month numbers for August show Strong Approval from 43% of Democrats, while 73% of Republicans Strongly Disapprove. Among voters not affiliated with either party, 14% Strongly Approve and 42% Strongly Disapprove of Obama's job performance.

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The president’s total job approval dipped two points in August to 44%, also the lowest level of approval to date.  The last time half (50%) of voters approved of Obama’s performance was in July 2009.  For 2011, prior to this survey, the president’s total job approval on a full-month basis has remained in the narrow range of 46% to 49%.  Throughout 2010, Obama’s full month approval ratings ranged from 45% to 47%.
Fifty-five percent (55%) disapproved of the president’s performance in August, the highest level measured yet.  That finding has ranged from 49% to 54% since July 2009. 

The economy remains the top issue on the minds of voters, while perceptions of the president’s handling of the issue has fallen to a new low.
Most voters continue to blame the struggling economy on the recession that began during the Bush administration, but the number who trusts their own economic judgment more than Obama’s is at a new high. 
Voters continue to have mixed views on the president’s leadership style.
Obama earns his lowest level of support yet against a generic Republican in a hypothetical 2012 election matchup for the week ending Sunday, August 28.  For the first time this year, Texas Governor Rick Perry leads the president in a national Election 2012 survey.  Other Republican candidates trail the president by single digits.  

2009	Strongly  Approve	Strongly  Disapprove	Approval  Index	Total  Approve	Total  Disapprove
Jan	43	20	23	62	34
Feb	39	25	14	59	39
Mar	37	30	7	57	42
Apr	35	31	4	55	44
May	35	29	6	57	42
Jun	34	32	2	54	45
Jul	30	37	-7	50	49
Aug	30	39	-9	49	50
Sep	31	39	-8	49	51
Oct	29	39	-10	48	51
Nov	28	40	-12	48	52
Dec	26	41	-15	46	53
2010
Jan	27	41	-14	47	52
Feb	25	39	-14	47	52
Mar	27	42	-15	46	53
Apr	30	41	-11	47	52
May	27	41	-14	46	53
Jun	26	42	-16	46	53
Jul	26	43	-17	46	54
Aug	27	43	-16	46	53
Sep	27	44	-17	45	54
Oct	28	43	-15	47	52
Nov	26	42	-16	46	53
Dec	25	40	-15	46	53
2011
Jan	27	38	-11	48	51
Feb	26	39	-13	47	52
Mar	25	40	-15	46	53
Apr	23	38	-15	47	52
May	25	36	-11	49	50
June	23	38	-15	47	52
July	24	41	-17	46	53
August	21	42	-21	44	55

Platinum Members have access to other measures of the president’s performance which can be found on the new Presidential Page.  This page includes full demographic breakdowns, a first-hand look at crosstabs and historical trends for the president.

Rasmussen Reports is an electronic media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion polling information.  We poll on a variety of topics in the fields of politics, business and lifestyle, updating our site’s content on a news cycle throughout the day, everyday.
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Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade. To learn more about our methodology, click here.

Daily tracking results are collected via telephone surveys of 500 likely voters per night. The monthly numbers in this article are based on approximately 15,000 interviews each month with likely voters. The margin of sampling error is less than +/- 1 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.