Ten, twenty, thirty and forty years of presidential popularity polls

An interesting look back through the polls. 10 years ago, Americans were clearly disenchanted with the Iraq War (supported by both parties originally) and GW Bush's approval was at 49%; 20 years ago, Americans were unhappy that Hillary had tried to take over healthcare, and President Clinton with approval ratings close to Obama's now signed the toughest anti-crime bill which probably accounts in part for a 20 year drop in gun violence; 30 years ago the U.S. was recovering from a recession and unemployment was still a major concern, and Reagan's approval rating was recovering at 55% but had been as low as 35%; 40 years ago Nixon resigned because of a cover up of a scandal (just one!) and his approval rating had been as low as 24%, which was still higher than Harry Truman's in the early 1950s. (Gallup.com June 6, 2014)