Obama's first 100 days

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 1st, 2009: President Obama's approval rating after 100 days stands at 59%. According to weekly polls conducted by YouGov PollingPoint, approval levels for his job as President were only higher during his first week in office. He assumed the job of U.S. President with 63% approval. Barack Obama ranks third in a historical comparison of approval ratings for the past six U.S. Presidents after 100 days. According to data from Gallup, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter enjoyed higher popularity, while George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton registered lower popularity.

More Americans are optimistic about direction of country

For the first time in 2009, more Americans think that the country is generally headed in the right direction than think that the country is off on the wrong track. When YouGov PollingPoint started asking this question at the end of January, people with a pessimistic outlook outnumbered optimists by 44%. That gap has steadily narrowed over the past four months, and an April 26-28, 2009 poll finds that a slight plurality of people now see the country going in the right direction (45% compared to 43%).

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Methodology:

These results are from a weekly YouGov PollingPoint public opinion tracking poll conducted for publication in The Economist. The poll surveyed 1,000 respondents and was fielded from April 26, 2009 to April 28, 2009. Results from interviews conducted online by members of the PollingPoint panel are representative of the U.S. adult population. The margin of error for this poll is +/- 5%. Further analysis of this poll is available at The Economist's website.