Obama's Negative Polling Worse Than Clinton's in 1995 Shutdown

Gallup released a poll last week showing President Barack Obama’s negative polling among Americans during the current government shutdown is substantially worse in comparison to the numbers the last Democratic president, Bill Clinton, had during his administration’s shutdown in 1995. 

According to Gallup:

A majority of Americans, 57%, say they now view President Obama more negatively as a result of the shutdown, while 28% see him more positively. By contrast, during the December 1995 shutdown, 49% of Americans viewed Clinton more negatively and 35% more positively. Clinton’s overall approval rating would tumble to 42% by the end of the 1995-96 shutdown, but rebounded later in 1996.

Gallup points out that Americans view the present shutdown as more serious than the 1995 government shutdown. Republican Congressional leaders are viewed similarly to how they were viewed during the 1995 shutdown, with 61 percent viewing them negatively. Democratic Congressional leaders are also viewed negatively by 58 percent of Americans.

President Obama’s overall job approval rating has taken a sharp drop since he first came to office. Gallup’s recorded Obama’s approval rating at 67 percent when he first took office. That number has since plunged to 44 percent.