Pressure on the president

Americans still have about six months to think about who should run the country, but as of May one thing was clear: A majority isn’t happy with the current president of the United States. President Obama’s approval rating came in at 47 percent, as of May 16, according to a Gallup survey. Worse still for him, of those surveyed, just more than 20 percent said they were satisfied with direction the country is taking.

Based on history, it’s hard to say what the figures mean for Obama’s bid for a second term. The satisfaction rating is very close to that experienced this time of year during the presidency of George H.W. Bush, who lost to Bill Clinton in 1992. However, Obama’s recent approval rating is also very close to that of George W. Bush, in 2004, the year he was re-elected.

Here’s a snapshot of the approval rating (in percentages) of former presidents leading up to their respective re-election wins and losses:

May July October

2012: Barack Obama 47 ? ?

2004: George W. Bush 49 47 50

1996: Bill Clinton 55 57 58

1992: George H.W. Bush 40 32 33

1984: Ronald Regan 52 54 58

1980: Jimmy Carter 43 33 37

1976: Gerald Ford 43 33 37

1972: Richard Nixon 62 — —

1964: Lyndon Johnson 75 — —