Obama Quarterly Approval Average Slips Nine Points to 53%

Obama's quarterly approval average drops by an all-time record amount

"The 9-point drop in the most recent quarter is the largest Gallup has ever measured for an elected president between the second and third quarters of his term."

What the prose summary did not state explicitly is that the previous record for that period was FOUR points, so President Obama, by more than doubling the old record, essentially pulled off the equivalent of a season of 450 strike outs! Unfortunately, Gallup doesn't pinpoint the cause of the drop. They don't present any evidence to show whether the drop was caused by specific issues, or just a waning of general confidence.

The wording of the record is a tiny bit misleading because it specifically excludes non-elected presidents. As it turns out, Obama does not have the record for all presidents. Harry Truman dropped 13 points in his third quarter, dating way back to the 1945-46 period.

President Obama did get a slight bump from his Nobel win. He had dropped to 50% on the Monday before his win was announced, but he bumped up to 56% after the announcement.