President Obama’s 43% average job approval rating for November is far below the ratings for every president that went on to win reelection. Only President Jimmy Carter, who lost his reelection bid in 1980, had a lower rating in the November before reelection at 40%.
But Carter’s approval rating soared in December 1979 when Americans rallied around the White House after the American Embassy in Tehran was stormed by Islamist students. His December average was 53%, while Obama’s approval rating is stuck at 42% today. Carter’s post-hostage crisis job approval rating would go on to peak at 58% in late January, before falling to a low of 31% in June 1980.
Up until now, Obama’s job approval rating has largely tracked Carter’s trajectory, but has been far more steady in its decline. Carter was still above 50% as late as January 1979, while Obama had already been underwater for some time. But an almost 30% increase in gas prices between January 1979 and June 1979 drove Carter’s numbers down to 29% by July 1979. Over the same time, Obama’s approval rating has gradually declined to just the low 40s.
