Obama's Approval Ratings Stabilize

Barack Obama’s approval ratings have stabilized this month, after taking a beating over the summer. According to the latest Gallup poll, Obama rests at a healthy 52% average approval rating, putting him on par with most recent presidents. He “is certainly doing as well as, or better than, Reagan or Clinton,” Gallup’s editor-in-chief told Politico. “His problems with his falling numbers were being overwritten,” added the head of the Pew Research Center.

While various polls put Obama a few points higher or lower, all show the same trend: Obama began with a lofty mid-60s rating, which fell until around Labor Day and hasn’t changed since. Some pollsters said the stabilizing numbers could reflect the more active role he’s taken in the health care debate, while others say it’s a natural settling of public opinion. (More Barack Obama stories.)