--- title: "Obama’s Second-Term Slide Continues" description: "Survey Report Barack Obama has had a difficult year since his reelection victory. His overall job rating stands at 41%, down 14 points since last December. A majority (53%) now disapproves of the way he is handling his job as president. The latest national poll by the Pew Research Center, conducted Oct. 30-Nov. 6 among […]" date: "2013-11-08" authors: - name: "Pew Research Center" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/11/08/obamas-second-term-slide-continues/" categories: - "Barack Obama" - "Presidential Approval" datasets: - name: "November 2013 Americas Place In The World Survey" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/dataset/november-2013-americas-place-in-the-world-survey/" --- # Obama’s Second-Term Slide Continues ## Table of Contents 1. [Obama’s Second-Term Slide Continues](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/11/08/obamas-second-term-slide-continues/markdown) - [Obama Job Ratings: 2009-2013](#obama-job-ratings-2009-2013) 2. [About the Survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/11/08/about-the-survey-159/markdown) ## Survey Report Barack Obama has had a difficult year since his reelection victory. His overall job rating stands at 41%, down 14 points since last December. A majority (53%) now disapproves of the way he is handling his job as president. [![Second-Term Presidential Job Approval](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/11/11-8-2013_1.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/11/08/obamas-second-term-slide-continues-2/11-8-2013_1/) The latest national poll by the Pew Research Center, conducted Oct. 30-Nov. 6 among 2,003 adults, finds that Obama’s second-term job ratings have followed a similar downward trajectory as those of his predecessor, George W. Bush. [A year after his reelection](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2005/11/08/alito-viewed-positively-but-libby-takes-a-toll/), 36% approved of Bush’s job performance, down from 48% in December 2004. In contrast, the two prior presidents who won reelection – Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan – enjoyed positive ratings over the course of the next year. At comparable points in their fifth year in office, 58% approved of Clinton’s job performance while Reagan’s job rating stood at 62%. []The new survey finds that majorities disapprove of the way Obama is handling four of five issues tested, with terrorism the lone exception (51% approve, 44% disapprove). For every issue, including terrorism, his ratings are lower than they were earlier this year. [![Obama Approval on Economy: 31%, Health Care: 37%](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/11/11-8-2013_2.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/11/08/obamas-second-term-slide-continues-2/11-8-2013_2/) Obama’s job ratings on the economy have been more negative than positive for more than four years, but the current measure is the worst of his presidency. Just 31% approve of the way Obama is handling the economy, while 65% disapprove. Only about one-in-five independents (21%) give Obama positive marks on the economy, while 75% disapprove. About a third of Democrats (34%) disapprove of the way Obama is handling the economy (64% approve). Obama also gets negative ratings on health care policy (37% approve, 59% disapprove). In January, views of Obama’s handling of health care policy were mixed (45% approved, 47% disapproved). The administration has come under intense criticism for [the flawed roll-out](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/10/21/public-registers-bumpy-launch-of-health-care-exchange-websites/) of the Affordable Care Act. [In a recent interview with NBC News](http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbc-news/53492840/#53492840), Obama apologized to those who have lost their health insurance under the law, despite his assurances that they would be able to stay on their plans. Only about a third of the public (32%) approves of the job Obama is doing on immigration policy; 60% disapprove. Obama’s ratings for this issue among Democrats are mixed: About half (53%) approve of his handling of the issue while 42% disapprove. ### Obama Job Ratings: 2009-2013 [![Obama Approval Falls to New Low](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/11/11-8-2013_3.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/11/08/obamas-second-term-slide-continues-2/11-8-2013_3/) Obama’s approval ratings fluctuated during the early part of this year. But since May, when 51% approved of his job performance, his ratings have moved steadily downward – to 46% in July, 43% in October and 41% this month. (For a breakdown of Obama’s job approval ratings, [see detailed tables](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/legacy-detailed_tables/11-8-13%20detailed%20tables.pdf)). While Obama’s overall marks have changed little over the past month, the 12-point difference between disapproval (53%) and approval (41%) is the largest of his presidency. Since Obama’s first year in office, his job rating has been above 50% on only a handful of occasions. His rating last December (55% approve, 39% disapprove) was his highest since September 2009 (55% approve, 33% disapprove), with the exception of a brief spike after the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011 (56% approve, 38% disapprove). [![Independents Sour on Obama in 2nd Term](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/11/11-8-2013_4.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/11/08/obamas-second-term-slide-continues-2/11-8-2013_4/) Since December 2012, Obama has lost the most ground among independents: Currently, only 32% of independents approve of his job performance while 61% disapprove. In December, 53% approved and 39% disapproved. Obama’s current rating among independents is only slightly higher than Bush’s in November 2005 (29% approved). Like Bush, Obama retains broad support among members of his own party, though the share of Democrats who give him a positive jobs rating has fallen 10 points over the past year (from 88% to 78%). Obama’s job rating among Republicans, extremely low last December (12%), has changed little since then. --- **Next:** [About the Survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/11/08/about-the-survey-159.md)