![\"new1\"](\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2013\/06\/new1.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\njob as president while 43% disapprove.<\/p>\n\n
That is little changed from a month ago, before the NSA surveillance controversy<\/a> and the revelations<\/a> that the IRS targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny. In early May, 51% approved of Obama\u2019s job performance while 43% disapproved.<\/p>\n\n In fact, Obama\u2019s current job rating has stayed at about 50% all year. He began the year with a 52% job approval mark, which fell to 47% in March<\/a>, when the public\u2019s economic expectations took a sharp turn for the worse.<\/p>\n\n The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted June 12-16 among 1,512 adults, finds that Obama is likely benefitting from more positive perceptions of the national economy.<\/p>\n\n The share of Americans saying the economy is in excellent or good shape has doubled over the past year, from 11% to 23%, and is the highest measure since January 2008. Looking ahead, more say the economy will be better (33%) than worse (19%) a year from now. That is a reversal of economic expectations since March, when more said economic conditions would be worse (32%) than better (25%) in a year.<\/p>\n\n Yet the public\u2019s economic<\/p>\n\n views look good only when compared with the dismal attitudes of the past five years. Take evaluations of local job availability: 29% now say that there are plenty of jobs available in their community, the most positive measure since July 2008. Roughly twice as many (64%) say that jobs are difficult to find.<\/p>\n\n Obama\u2019s ratings on the economy, while mixed, also have improved. Currently, 44% approve of his handling of the economy<\/p>\n\n while\u00a0 50% disapprove. That is among Obama\u2019s highest net approval ratings on the economy since his first year in office. Yet it is well below the 60% approval rating Obama received for handling the economy in April 2009.<\/p>\n\n The public remains divided over whether Obama\u2019s policies have made economic conditions better or worse (35% each); 27% say that his policies have had no effect so far. These opinions are little changed over the past year-and-a-half, but in the fall of 2011, nearly twice as many said his policies had made things worse (38%) than better (20%).<\/p>\n\n Opinions about Obama\u2019s legacy, like views of the impact of his economic policies, are divided. About a third (34%) say that, in the long<\/p>\n\n run, Obama will be a successful president; similar percentages say he will be unsuccessful (31%) or that is too early to tell (33%). Even as an increasing share has offered a judgment about Obama\u2019s legacy, the balance of opinion has changed only modestly.<\/p>\n\n The survey finds that the one-word impressions people have of Obama have changed a great deal throughout his presidency. Terms like incompetent<\/em> and liar<\/em> now are among the most frequently used words to describe Obama. In April 2009, when his job approval was at 63%, these words were rare.<\/p>\n\n Some positive descriptions \u2013 such as good<\/em> and honest<\/em> \u2013 continue to be used often to characterize impressions of Obama. And the word socialist<\/em> is used about as often today as it was in Obama\u2019s first year in office.<\/p>\n\n Obama\u2019s current job rating of 49% is higher than George W. Bush\u2019s rating in June 2005 (42%), but lower than Bill Clinton\u2019s job measure in June 1997 (54%).<\/p>\n\n The partisan divide in opinions about Obama\u2019s performance is virtually the mirror image of views of Bush at a comparable point in his second term. Currently, 85% of Democrats approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president, compared with just 16% of Republicans. (See the table at the end of this report for a detailed look at Obama job approval<\/em><\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n In June 2005, 85% of Republicans and 14% of Democrats viewed Bush\u2019s job performance positively. Obama\u2019s rating among independents is higher than Bush\u2019s eight years ago (41% vs. 32%).<\/p>\n\n Clinton\u2019s job rating in June 1997 was less polarized: 79% of Democrats, 29% of Republicans and a narrow majority of independents (53%) approved of the way he was handling his job as president.<\/p>\n\n Despite the public\u2019s mixed views of the government\u2019s collection of telephone and internet data<\/a> as part of anti-terrorism efforts, Obama continues to get positive marks from the public for his handling of the threat of terrorism \u2013 by a 21-point margin (56% vs. 35%) more approve than disapprove.<\/p>\n\n Yet Obama receives some of his worst marks for how he is handling privacy and civil liberties: just 42% approve while 51% disapprove.<\/p>\n\n The gap in these two ratings is particularly wide among independents: just 28% approve of how Obama is handling privacy and civil liberties, compared with 52% who approve of his handling of terrorism. There is a smaller gap among Democrats (68% approve of how Obama is handling civil liberties, 80% terrorism). Republicans offer roughly the same ratings on both issues (28% approve of how Obama is handling civil liberties, 31% terrorism). These are among the strongest ratings Obama receives from Republicans across the eight issues tested.<\/p>\n\n By a 14-point margin, more Americans say that Obama\u2019s terrorism policies have made the country safer from terrorism (36%) not less safe (22%). Another 38% say his policies have not made a difference.<\/p>\n\n![\"new2\"](\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2013\/06\/new2.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n![\"fixed2\"](\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2013\/06\/fixed2.png\")
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\nObama\u2019s Job Rating Higher than Bush\u2019s, Lower than Clinton\u2019s<\/h3>\n\n
![\"fixed3\"](\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2013\/06\/fixed3.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\nObama and the Issues<\/h3>\n\n
![\"new7\"](\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2013\/06\/new7.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n![\"new8\"](\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2013\/06\/new8.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\nMore Positive Economic Views<\/h3>\n\n
![\"new9\"](\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2013\/06\/new9.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n![\"new10\"](\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2013\/06\/new10.png\")
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