President Obama embarks on his second term in the White House next week with a majority of the nation giving him a good performance review, albeit barely.
Fifty-one percent of Americans surveyed January 11-15 approve of how Obama is handling his job, according to CBS News, while 41 percent disapprove.
Fittingly, Obama received 51 percent of the vote in the 2012 presidential election, while Republican challenger Mitt Romney garnered (yes) 47 percent.
Obama’s 51 percent approval rating is similar to the one held by former President George W. Bush at the start of his second term, in January 2005.
It is below what former President Bill Clinton (60 percent) and former President Ronald Reagan (62 percent) enjoyed at the start of their second terms.
The “fiscal cliff” negotiations didn’t alter public opinion of the president’s ability to handle the economy, which only 46 percent of Americans approve of.