Interactive graphic: Obama’s peaks and troughs

When President Obama took office in January 2009, his approval rating was a healthy 67 per cent. Since then though, buffeted by a series of crises and worrying unemployment numbers, his polling numbers have fallen steadily.

But, as Gallup’s editor in chief Frank Newport points out, both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton’s approval ratings dropped below 40 per cent in their first terms before then went on to win re-election.

Explore his changing political fortunes in this interactive graphic.