(Week of 5/12/2012) President Obama enjoyed the advantage incumbents have when the other party is engaged in a spirited nomination contest early in 2012, and it showed in his approval ratings overall and on specific issues. There is no issue on which Obama’s standing in the current week’s mid-May Economist/YouGov poll is higher than his standing in mid-February at the height of the Republican nomination fight. In fact, Obama’s current mid-May scores are barely as good as those scores were in mid-February on his handling of terrorism (always Obama’s best score) and gay rights (this week’s hot topic).
Economist/YouGov poll archives can be found here
Photo source: Press Association
