Sarah Sharp

Dr. Spangler
Government 2305
16 November 2014
Obama Approval Index History
This is a graph of polls that have been taken since 2008 when Obama was first running
for president. This ties in with the chapter that goes over public opinion and the different types of
surveys that can be taken. In the 2008 studies, there is a higher percentage of people that strongly
agree with Obama. The highest approval rate is 69% and the lowest disapproval rate is 29%. This
is also present in the total approve column that more people are for Obama. Even the approval
index is a positive number. As the time goes on, you can slowly see a change that more people
and more people are becoming against Obama.
In the studies done in 2011, there is already a slight change in percentages. More people
proving to switch sides and the disapproval percentages are going up. The disapproval rate at the
end of 2011 is 52% and the approval rate is 46%. The drastic change here is that the approval
index quickly changed to a negative number and goes as high as -25 when in 2008 the approval
rating was as high as +29. In 2014 is where you see the most change in percentages as well as
approval rating. On November 16, 2014 the current approval rating is -18, with a total
disapproval of 52% and a total approval rate of 46%. This survey presents exactly how public
opinion can change over time and through certain events such as Obamas health care reform etc.