---
title: "Obama’s President’s Day"
description: "As America's 44th executive celebrates his first President’s Day in office, nearly two-thirds of Americans approve of the job he is doing."
date: "2009-02-12"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2009/02/12/obamas-presidents-day/"
---

# Obama’s President’s Day

As President Barack Obama celebrates his first President’s Day in the Oval Office, nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) approve of the way he is handling the job, an initial approval rating higher than that of his most-recent predecessors — George W. Bush (53%) and Bill Clinton (56%). Obama’s personal image is also very strong. Overwhelming majorities view Obama as a strong leader (77%) and trustworthy (76%), while an even higher percentage (92%) says he is a good communicator. And two-thirds of Americans — including a narrow majority of Republicans — say that Obama “has a new approach to politics in Washington.” [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/pubs/1109/poll-stimulus-support-slips-obama-still-very-popular)