--- title: President Barack Obama Approval Ratings Reach a High: 55% description: President Obama's approval ratings have hit a new high for his second term at 55%, according to a CNN/ORC poll released Thursday. canonical: https://time.com/4521538/barack-obama-approval-ratings/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-06T17:48:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T01:03:26.973Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama's Approval Ratings Haven't Been This High in Years og:description: The latest poll puts him at 55% og:url: https://time.com/4521538/barack-obama-approval-ratings/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2edc4c56eecf0443/6988a8f4fb4eac62a088f621/barack-obama-approval-rating-high.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: barack obama approval rating high og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama's Approval Ratings Haven't Been This High in Years twitter:description: The latest poll puts him at 55% twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2edc4c56eecf0443/6988a8f4fb4eac62a088f621/barack-obama-approval-rating-high.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama's Approval Ratings Haven't Been This High in Years > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Oct 6, 2016 5:48 PM UTC  President Obama looking pleased and reaching for the approval rating stars. President Obama looking pleased and reaching for the approval rating stars. Pool—Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Oct 6, 2016 5:48 PM UTC President Obama’s approval ratings have hit a new high for his second term at 55%, according to a [CNN/ORC ](http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2016/images/10/05/obama.pdf.pdf)poll released Thursday. It continues a seven-month streak of approval ratings [over 50%](http://time.com/3941331/barack-obama-approval-rating-poll/) for the lame-duck president. And it brings his 2016 average to 51%—its highest level since his first year as President. A similar poll a year ago put Obama’s approval 10 points lower. The rising ratings are [mostly due](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/obama-approval-229224) to a 12-point spike in approval from Democrats and a 14-point spike in approval from independents. 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