First-year numbers aren't a reliable predictor of a president's popularity at the end of his term. Approval for Obama's immediate predecessor, George W. Bush, was mostly in the 50- to 60-percent range until right after the 9/11 attacks, when it jumped as high as 90 percent. But during his final months in office, amid two wars and an economic crisis, Bush's approval bottomed out at 25 percent. Ronald Reagan, on the other hand, started at 51 percent, slipped to 49 after a year and ended up leaving office with a 63 percent approval rating, according to Gallup.
The ratings below are from the first month of each president's first and second year in office.





