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Multilateral Foreign Policy > Published by Will Straw, July 28th 2009 at 9:03 am

Obama: Popular President facing many challenges

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In a week when Congress has been delaying his healthcare plan, there was some good news for President Barack Obama. A new study by US think tank, the Brookings Institution, outlines that – despite facing a host of unprecedented circumstances – Obama is the most popular president at this stage of his term of office since Ronald Reagan.
Obama approval
Across a series of measures, President Obama faces more difficult circumstances than any leaders since Jimmy Carter. The economy is contracting at a 5.5% annualised rate, unemployment is at 9.5%, 97% of large metropolitan areas have employment declines, and consumer confidence is at just 49.3.

Despite this and just 31% of people being “satisfied with how things are,” Barack Obama enjoys a 60% approval rating. The anger appears to be taken out on Congress with only 33% approval.