Gallup Poll, Barack Obama Approval Rating | featured news

Like most White House occupants, President Obama saw his approval rating rise after an election. Obama's bounce, however, turned out to be lower than the average of his predecessors. The New York Times, citing data from the Gallup Poll, noted that Obama's net job approval rating rose by 2 percentage points after his Nov. 6 election win over Mitt Romney.

President Obama's job approval rating and level of voter support have reached the critical 50% point, according to Gallup, but there is still plenty of opportunity for the White House race to fluctuate. Gallup says Obama's job approval rating stands at 51%. At the same time, the president leads Mitt Romney 50%-44% among registered voters in the daily tracking poll -- similar to where the race stood after the Democratic convention this month.

President Obama is still reaping the dividends from this month's fight with the House GOP on extending the payroll tax. Obama's approval ratings are higher than his disapproval ratings for the first time since July, according to the latest Gallup Poll. About 47% of Americans approve of the way he is doing his job, while 45% disapprove of his performance. The three-day tracking poll was conducted Dec. 21-23.

Twelve states constitute the likely battlegrounds for the 2012 election, based on Gallup’s state-by-state ratings of President Obama’s approval level.

President Obama's summer woes have dragged his approval rating to an all-time low, sinking below 40% for the first time in Gallup's daily tracking poll.

President Obama's Gallup approval rating has hit an all-time low of 40%.