# Obama's Gallup approval up to over 51%. Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 4, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952 "2016-03-04T19:29:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/41 "2016-03-07T20:55:05Z")
> [@Esox\_Lucius](#): > > Like start a needless war. Lame duck or what, right? Or anything else, like nominate someone for the Supreme Court. > [@](#): > > This is just a hunch, but I have a feeling that there’s a few things that presidents do behind the scenes that don’t fit the criteria for breaking news. But because they aren’t reported, I guess we can just assume that he’s off playing golf and basketball all day. > > (I know that was a fun bit of harmless trolling on your part, and well played:), but I wanted to take the opportunity to answer Obama haters who actually think that.) That doesn’t make any sense. Obama’s approval ratings are up because he is busy doing things that nobody knows about? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/42 "2016-03-07T21:43:37Z")
People see the monkey poo fling-fest that is the GOP Primary and remembered why they didn’t elect any of them in 2008 and 2012 ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/43 "2016-03-07T22:45:44Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Or anything else, like nominate someone for the Supreme Court. Don’t get your hopes up. They’ll be dashed soon enough. Then you can knock him for doing it. > [@Shodan](#): > > That doesn’t make any sense. Obama’s approval ratings are up because he is busy doing things that nobody knows about? It looks like I misunderstood your comment. My mistake for giving you too much credit. Continue flailing wildly. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/44 "2016-03-07T23:57:52Z")
Typical timing for announcing a candidate after a vacancy opens is about a month. Current circumstances demand vetting above and beyond normal and likely some convincing to get a great candidate to accept the nomination at this particular time. Still, one can expect a nomination announcement no later than the week before Obama goes to Cuba later this month. It will be someone relatively moderate and whose credentials are impeccable. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/45 "2016-03-08T00:44:40Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Or anything else, like nominate someone for the Supreme Court. [GOP standing firm on SCOTUS blockade](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/gop-supreme-court-blockade-220383) That’s some reality you have going there. Blame Obama for the refusal of the GOP to consider ANY NOMINATION WHATSOEVER. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/46 "2016-03-08T01:14:06Z")
Of course it’s Obama’s fault. He could just make a deal with the Senate if he wanted to. He could, I dunno, nominate Roy Moore, have Hillary arrested, shut down every federal agency except for the military, and then resign and move to Africa. Would that be so hard?! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/47 "2016-03-08T01:33:32Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > David Brooks, who rarely agreed with Obama’s policies, [said](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/opinion/i-miss-barack-obama.html?_r=0)he was going to miss Obama: Brooks’s intention with that column was to relegate the Obama presidency to history and pin the “lame duck” sign on him early. His passive-aggressive way of enforcing the Senate Republicans SCOTUS dog-whistle mantra of “Let ‘real Americans’ decide! No nomination until the Kenyan is out of office!” David Brooks is a slimy, shitty little sneak. Always has been. Always will be. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/48 "2016-03-08T01:35:41Z")
Oh, crap…I thought for a minute I was in the Pit. Change that to: “David Brooks is a devious, pusillanimous prevaricator.” ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/49 "2016-03-08T01:52:55Z")
Obama has been almost invisible, keeping a very low profile, the last couple years. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/50 "2016-03-08T03:03:06Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > Obama has been almost invisible, keeping a very low profile, the last couple years. I honestly can’t tell if this is sarcastic. I could totally imagine a Republican saying this with a straight face. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/51 "2016-03-08T05:21:20Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > I honestly can’t tell if this is sarcastic. I could totally imagine a Republican saying this with a straight face. Throw a “Terrible” or “Total disaster.” on the end, and that could’ve been a Trump tweet. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/52 "2016-03-08T05:31:43Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Throw a “Terrible” or “Total disaster.” on the end, and that could’ve been a Trump tweet. Sad! ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/53 "2016-03-08T07:15:02Z")
Isn’t this inevitable at the end of a cycle when political attention is elsewhere - in a sense the incumbent doesn’t matter anymore, it’s done. Time to move on. And so they find a level less affected by daily partisan attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/54 "2016-03-08T09:09:03Z")
I find it astonishing that his approval rating is so _low_. Americans are now better off in a whole range of ways. Even if one were inclined to believe none of it was his doing and it’s all been lucky circumstances around him, it seems odd to me to _disapprove_ of him. I’m not american, but the last time I was in the States I tried to ask some people who were most strongly against Obama what their reasoning was. Closest I got to a specific was that he had been weak on foreign policy. On pressing for what those people suggest he should have done differently, there was again no specifics; just essentially “look meaner”. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/55 "2016-03-08T18:24:04Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > I honestly can’t tell if this is sarcastic. I could totally imagine a Republican saying this with a straight face. As far as I know, Obama was on the TV set giving press conferences almost daily the first term. My impression is he’s had a relatively quiet second term for media exposure, which I think is typical for many past presidents. But maybe I just haven’t been watching as much news lately. No sarcasm intended and I’m not Republican or voting for Trump. I usually add some type of smilie face such as :rolleyes: if I’m intending sarcasm. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/56 "2016-03-08T18:46:23Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > [GOP standing firm on SCOTUS blockade](http://www.politio.com/story/2016/03/gop-supreme-court-blockade-220383) > > That’s some reality you have going there. Blame Obama for the refusal of the GOP to consider ANY NOMINATION WHATSOEVER. Has Obama performed his duty and nominated a Supreme, yet? No one can prevent Obama from nominating someone. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/57 "2016-03-08T18:48:24Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > As far as I know, Obama was on the TV set giving press conferences almost daily the first term. My impression is he’s had a relatively quiet second term for media exposure, which I think is typical for many past presidents. But maybe I just haven’t been watching as much news lately. > > No sarcasm intended and I’m not Republican or voting for Trump. I usually add some type of smilie face such as :rolleyes: if I’m intending sarcasm. I suspect what you’re noticing is just that there is other political news to cover, so cable news spends marginally less time on Obama stuff. His number of press [conferences](http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/newsconferences.php), for example, have kept almost exactly the same pace every year of his presidency. But media aside, he hasn’t exactly laid low. The Iran deal. Opening up Cuba. TPP. Expanding deferred action for immigrants. The Climate Change Accords. Arguably the last two years saw more high-profile presidential action than the prior three or four years. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/58 "2016-03-08T20:15:49Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I find it astonishing that his approval rating is so _low_. > Americans are now better off in a whole range of ways. > Even if one were inclined to believe none of it was his doing and it’s all been lucky circumstances around him, it seems odd to me to _disapprove_ of him. > > I’m not american, but the last time I was in the States I tried to ask some people who were most strongly against Obama what their reasoning was. Closest I got to a specific was that he had been weak on foreign policy. On pressing for what those people suggest he should have done differently, there was again no specifics; just essentially “look meaner”. In March 1988 Reagan had about the same approval rating (50%) and was dealing with a 5.7% unemployment rate compared to 4.9% now. The deficit as a percentage of GDP was 2.95% in 1988 and 2.45% in 2015. So better employment figures and better deficit figures. (Deficit as a percent of GDP was 3.05% in 1987) ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/59 "2016-03-08T21:50:30Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > No one can prevent Obama from nominating someone. No one can force him to do it before he’s ready, either. He’ll nominate someone in good time, and _then_ you can blast him for doing it. Just be patient. > [@doorhinge](#): > > Has Obama performed his duty and nominated a Supreme, yet? Since duty is important to you, maybe you could remind Senate Republicans of their Constitutional duty to hold nomination hearings once a nominee is put forward. They’ve been threatening to shirk their duty ever since Scalia died. You must be really pissed at them. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952/60 "2016-03-08T22:00:37Z")
> [@Esox\_Lucius](#): > > No one can force him to do it before he’s ready, either. He’ll nominate someone in good time, and _then_ you can blast him for doing it. Just be patient. > > Since duty is important to you, maybe you could remind Senate Republicans of their Constitutional duty to hold nomination hearings once a nominee is put forward. They’ve been threatening to shirk their duty ever since Scalia died. You must be really pissed at them. What Constitutional duty are you referring to? Obama needs to find a nominee. Tick, tick, tick. The U.S. Senate doesn’t have to hold hearings. The voters can voice their opinions of the situation at the polls. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-gallup-approval-up-to-over-51-why/747952.md?page=4)