Barack Obama

=== Job approval ===
[[File:Gallup Poll-Approval Rating-Barack Obama.svg|thumb|275px|Graph of Obama's approval ratings per Gallup|alt=refer to adjacent text]]
According to the [[Gallup Organization]], Obama began his presidency with a 68 percent [[approval rating]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/113962/obama-starts-job-approval.aspx |title = Obama Starts With 68% Job Approval |publisher = Gallup |first1= Lydia |last1=Saad |date = January 24, 2009 |access-date = June 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616021142/http://www.gallup.com/poll/113962/Obama-Starts-Job-Approval.aspx |archive-date = June 16, 2011 }}</ref> before gradually declining for the rest of the year, and eventually bottoming out at 41 percent in August 2010,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2011/04/obama-hits-low-point-in-gallup-poll/1 |first1=David |last1=Jackson |title = Obama hits low point in Gallup Poll—41% |work = USA Today |date = April 15, 2011 |access-date = June 19, 2011 }}</ref> a trend similar to Ronald Reagan's and Bill Clinton's first years in office.<ref>{{cite web |first = Jon |last = Terbush |url=http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/approval-by-numbers-how-obama-compares-to-past-presidents.php |title = Approval By Numbers: How Obama Compares To Past Presidents |publisher = TPMDC |date = December 9, 2010 |access-date = June 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110704203654/http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/approval-by-numbers-how-obama-compares-to-past-presidents.php |archive-date= Jul 4, 2011 }}</ref> He experienced a small poll bounce shortly after the [[death of Osama bin Laden]] on May 2, 2011, and maintained 50–53 percent approval for about a month, until his approval numbers dropped back to the low 40s.<ref name="Obamapolling">{{cite web |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Job-Approval.aspx |title = Gallup Daily: Obama Job Approval |date = January 22, 2015 |access-date = March 23, 2015 |website = Gallup Polling }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last = Oliphant |first = James |date = May 11, 2011 |url=https://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/11/news/la-pn-obama-bounce-20110511 |title = Bin Laden bounce? New poll shows jump in Obama approval |work = [[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date = June 7, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1 = Balz |first1 = Dan |last2 = Cohen |first2 = John |date = June 6, 2011 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-loses-bin-laden-bounce-romney-on-the-move-among-gop-contenders/2011/06/06/AGT5wiKH_story.html |url-access=subscription |title = Obama loses bin Laden bounce; Romney on the move among GOP contenders |newspaper = The Washington Post |publisher = Nash Holdings LLC |access-date = June 7, 2011 }}</ref> By August 2011, Obama's approval rating stood at only 38 percent; similar results were found in three other polls in October.<ref>{{cite news |last1 = Jones |first1 = Jeffrey M. |date = October 21, 2011 |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/150230/obama-job-approval-average-slides-new-low-11th-quarter.aspx |title = Obama Job Approval Average Slides to New Low in 11th Quarter |work = Gallup Inc. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115131117/https://news.gallup.com/poll/150230/Obama-Job-Approval-Average-Slides-New-Low-11th-Quarter.aspx |archive-date= Jan 15, 2024 }}</ref> His approval ratings rebounded around the same time as his reelection in 2012, with polls showing an average job approval of 52 percent shortly after his second inauguration.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/Presidential-Job-Approval-Center.aspx |title = Presidential Job Approval Center |publisher = Gallup |access-date = June 23, 2015 |archive-date = July 2, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150702081744/http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/presidential-job-approval-center.aspx |url-status = dead }}</ref>

Obama saw his approval rating drop to 39 percent in December 2013.<ref name="Obamapolling"/> In polling conducted before the [[2014 United States elections|2014 midterm elections]], Obama's disapproval rating reached its highest ever at 55 percent.<ref name="Obamapolling"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/poll-obama-lowest-approval-rating-nbc-wsj-107978 |title = NBC/WSJ poll: Obama low point |date = June 18, 2014 |access-date = July 25, 2023 |last1=Topaz |first1=Jonathan |website = Politico }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/10/27/politics/cnn-poll-angry-voters/index.html |title = Voters are angry |date = October 28, 2014 |access-date = July 25, 2023 |last1=Preston |first1=Mark |website = CNN }}</ref> His approval rating continued to lag throughout most of 2015 but began to reach the high 40s by the end of the year.<ref name="Obamapolling"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/181490/obama-approval-ratings-historically-polarized.aspx |title = Obama Approval Ratings Still Historically Polarized |date = February 6, 2015 |access-date = July 31, 2023 |last1=Jones |first1=Jeffrey M. |website = Gallup Inc. }}</ref> According to Gallup, Obama's approval rating reached 50 percent in March 2016, a level unseen since May 2013.<ref name="Obamapolling"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/189872/obama-job-approval-highest-level-may-2013.aspx?g_source=Obama%20Job%20Approval&g_medium=search&g_campaign=tiles |title = Obama's Job Approval at Highest Level Since May 2013 |date = March 10, 2016 |access-date = July 25, 2023 |last1=Dugan |first1=Andrew |last2=Newport |first2=Frank |website = Gallup Polling }}</ref> In polling conducted January 16–19, 2017, Obama's final approval rating was 59 percent, which placed him on par with [[George H. W. Bush]] and [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], whose final Gallup ratings also measured in the high 50s.<ref>{{cite news |date = October 28, 2022 |url=https://www.pilotonline.com/2022/10/28/barack-obama-gets-a-midterm-do-over-to-help-boost-democrats/ |title = Barack Obama gets a midterm do-over to help boost Democrats |agency = Associated Press |publisher = [[The Virginia Pilot]] |access-date = July 24, 2023 }}</ref>

Obama has maintained relatively positive public perceptions after his presidency.<ref>{{cite news |date =June 19, 2017 |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/212633/george-bush-barack-obama-popular-retirement.aspx |title = George W. Bush and Barack Obama Both Popular in Retirement |work = [[Gallup Inc.]] |last = Saad |first = Lydia |access-date = July 31, 2023 }}</ref> In Gallup's retrospective approval polls of former presidents, Obama garnered a 63 percent approval rating in 2018 and again in 2023, ranking him the fourth most popular president since World War II.<ref>{{cite news |date =February 15, 2018 |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/226994/obama-first-retrospective-job-approval-rating.aspx |title = Obama's First Retrospective Job Approval Rating Is 63% |work = [[Gallup Inc.]] |last = Jones |first = Jeffrey M.| access-date = July 31, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date =July 17, 2023 |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/508625/retrospective-approval-jfk-rises-trump.aspx |title = Retrospective Approval of JFK Rises to 90%; Trump at 46% |work = [[Gallup Inc.]] |last = Jones |first = Jeffrey M.| access-date = July 31, 2023 }}</ref>