In the United States, presidential job approval ratings were introduced by George Gallup in the late 1930s (probably 1937) to gauge public support for the president during his presidency. An approval rating is a percentage determined by a polling which indicates the percentage of respondents to an opinion poll who approve of a particular person or program. Most often an approval rating is given to a political figure based on responses to a poll in which a sample of people are asked whether they approve or disapprove of that particular political figure. A typical question might ask:
- "Do you approve or disapprove of the way John McCain is handling his job as President?"
Like most surveys that predict public opinion, the approval rating is subjective. Many unscientific approval rating systems exist that skew popular opinion. However, the approval rating is generally accepted as the general opinion of the people. A more precise rating can be made by an average poll using data from all approval ratings over the same period of time (for example a week or a month).
Average polling[]
Approval ratings of John McCain from January 2009 to March 2010.
This table gives the average of eight opinion polls (USA Today/Gallup, FOX News/Opinion Dynamics, CNN/Opinion Research, CBS News/New York Times, Rasmussen Report, Associated Press - GfK, Zogby International and Newsweek) showing McCain's approval ratings every 10 days.
| Date | Approval | Disapproval | Unsure | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | ||||
| January 20 - 31 | 53% | 42% | 5% | +11 |
| January 10 - 20 | 56% | 42% | 2% | +14 |
| January 1 - 10 | 57% | 40% | 3% | +17 |
| 2011 | ||||
| September 20 - 30 | 57% | 41% | 2% | +16 |
| May 20 - 31 | 61% | 36% | 3% | +25 |
| May 10 - 20 | 60% | 37% | 3% | +23 |
| May 1 - 10 | 66% | 30% | 4% | +36 |
| 2010 | ||||
| October 20 - 31 | 50% | 47% | 3% | +3 |
| October 10 - 20 | 52% | 46% | 2% | +6 |
| October 1 - 10 | 51% | 46% | 3% | +5 |
| September 20 - 30 | 53% | 45% | 2% | +8 |
| September 10 - 20 | 51% | 47% | 2% | +4 |
| September 1 - 10 | 49% | 46% | 5% | +3 |
| August 20 - 31 | 51% | 47% | 2% | +4 |
| August 10 - 20 | 49% | 47% | 4% | +2 |
| August 1 - 10 | 51% | 46% | 3% | +5 |
| July 20 - 31 | 55% | 44% | 1% | +11 |
| July 10 - 20 | 53% | 46% | 1% | +7 |
| July 1 - 10 | 54% | 43% | 3% | +11 |
| June 20 - 30 | 57% | 41% | 2% | +16 |
| June 10 - 20 | 55% | 44% | 1% | +11 |
| June 1 - 10 | 53% | 46% | 1% | +7 |
| May 20 - 31 | 54% | 45% | 1% | +9 |
| May 10 - 20 | 56% | 42% | 2% | +14 |
| May 1 - 10 | 58% | 41% | 1% | +17 |
| April 20 - 30 | 62% | 36% | 2% | +26 |
| April 10 - 20 | 61% | 36% | 3% | +25 |
| April 1 - 10 | 58% | 40% | 2% | +18 |
| March 20 - 31 | 59% | 38% | 3% | +21 |
| March 10 - 20 | 62% | 35% | 3% | +27 |
| March 1 - 10 | 65% | 32% | 3% | +33 |
| February 20 - 28 | 66% | 29% | 5% | +37 |
| February 10 - 20 | 64% | 32% | 4% | +32 |
| February 1 - 10 | 67% | 30% | 3% | +37 |
| January 20 - 31 | 66% | 32% | 2% | +34 |
| January 10 - 20 | 64% | 35% | 1% | +29 |
| January 1 - 10 | 65% | 33% | 2% | +32 |
| 2009 | ||||
| December 20 - 31 | 62% | 35% | 3% | +27 |
| December 10 - 20 | 64% | 33% | 3% | +31 |
| December 1 - 10 | 66% | 33% | 2% | +33 |
| November 20 - 30 | 68% | 31% | 1% | +37 |
| November 10 - 20 | 67% | 30% | 3% | +37 |
| November 1 - 10 | 68% | 30% | 2% | +38 |
| October 20 - 31 | 65% | 32% | 3% | +33 |
| October 10 - 20 | 63% | 35% | 2% | +28 |
| October 1 - 10 | 61% | 37% | 2% | +24 |
| September 20 - 30 | 62% | 35% | 3% | +27 |
| September 10 - 20 | 60% | 37% | 3% | +23 |
| September 1 - 10 | 59% | 39% | 2% | +20 |
| August 20 - 31 | 58% | 40% | 3% | +18 |
| August 10 - 20 | 57% | 41% | 2% | +16 |
| August 1 - 10 | 54% | 42% | 4% | +12 |
| July 20 - 31 | 57% | 39% | 4% | +18 |
| July 10 - 20 | 55% | 43% | 2% | +12 |
| July 1 - 10 | 57% | 40% | 3% | +17 |
| June 20 - 30 | 60% | 37% | 3% | +23 |
| June 10 - 20 | 63% | 35% | 2% | +28 |
| June 1 - 10 | 62% | 33% | 5% | +29 |
| May 20 - 31 | 63% | 28% | 9% | +35 |
| May 10 - 20 | 66% | 28% | 6% | +38 |
| May 1 - 10 | 67% | 30% | 3% | +37 |
| April 20 - 30 | 69% | 27% | 4% | +42 |
| April 10 - 20 | 70% | 26% | 4% | +44 |
| April 1 - 10 | 72% | 26% | 3% | +46 |
| March 20 - 31 | 71% | 25% | 4% | +46 |
| March 10 - 20 | 73% | 24% | 3% | +51 |
| March 1 - 10 | 74% | 23% | 3% | +51 |
| February 20 - 28 | 77% | 18% | 5% | +59 |
| February 10 - 20 | 75% | 22% | 3% | +53 |
| February 1 - 10 | 72% | 24% | 4% | +48 |
| January 20 - 31 | 74% | 21% | 5% | +53 |
Individual polls[]
| Polling group's approval rating polls for President John McCain | |||||
| Polling Group | Date | Approval | Disapproval | Unsure | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBS News/New York Times | May 30 - June 3, 2010 | 54% | 45% | 1% | +9 |
| FOX News/Opinion Dynamics | May 23 - May 27, 2010 | 57% | 42% | 1% | +14 |
| CNN/Opinion Research | May 22 - May 25, 2010 | 52% | 46% | 2% | +6 |
| USA Today/Gallup | May 18 - May 24, 2010 | 54% | 43% | 3% | +11 |
| FOX News/Opinion Dynamics | May 15 - May 18, 2010 | 58% | 40% | 2% | +18 |
| Newsweek | May 10 - May 14, 2010 | 54% | 45% | 1% | +9 |
| USA Today/Gallup | May 8 - May 13, 2010 | 56% | 43% | 1% | +13 |
| CBS News/New York Times | May 6 - May 9, 2010 | 49% | 48% | 1% | 1 |
| CNN/Opinion Research | May 5 - May 8, 2010 | 52% | 46% | 6% | 6 |
| Rasmussen Report | May 2 - May 6, 2010 | 51% | 43% | 8% | 8 |
See also[]
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