(Week of 6/2/2012) It does not take too deep a dive in the results of the most recent Economist/YouGov poll (Week of June 2, 2012) to see why President Obama's approval rating continues to hover somewhere in the low 40s. In each week's poll, we test Obama's job approval rating overall and against roughly a baker's dozen specific issues. This week, Obama's overall job rating is 42%, and his average rating across 13 issues is 39%.
In January, the picture was similar: Obama's overall job rating in the first Economist/YouGov poll of the year (Week of December 31,2011-January 2, 2012) was 43% and his average score across the same 13 specific issues was 38%.
The issues environment has not changed much in six months, either. Then, as now, two issues loom over all others: The economy (78% now rate it very important) and health care (69%). None of the other 11 issues on the list is rated important by more than 60%. Obama's best improvements on job approval on specific issues, by a miniscule margin, are on the economy, handling terrorism (always Obama's best score) and Social Security.
Economist/YouGov poll archives can be found here
Photo source: Press Association
