President Barack Obama saw a continued increase in his approval rating in his fourteenth quarter in office, according to the results of a Gallup poll released on Monday.
Gallup said Obama averaged 46.8 percent job approval during his fourteenth quarter in office compared to an average of 45.9 percent in his thirteenth quarter.
With the increase, the president's approval rating rose for the third consecutive quarter after hitting a low of 41.0 percent in the eleventh quarter.
Despite the recent improvement, Obama's approval rating remains down sharply compared to the highs seen early in his term and well below Gallup's historical average of 54 percent.
Gallup managing editor Jeffrey Jones said, "Obama appears in much better shape now than the two recently elected presidents who were denied a second term -- Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush -- both of whom averaged below 40% approval their 14th quarters in office."
"At the same time, Obama is not as well-positioned as the post-World War II elected presidents who were above 50% during their 14th quarters and who all won re-election easily," he added.
Jones noted that Obama's fourteenth quarter approval rating is most similar to that of President George W. Bush, who narrowly defeated Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., in 2004.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com