Presidential Approval Pre- and Post-State of the Union Address
Compiled by
David Pakman
Let's take a look at presidential approval ratings before and after
state of the union addresses. We'll start with Jimmy Carter and go to
George W. Bush. Note: Presidents' first years in office not included.
Year
President
Pre-Speech
Post-Speech
Change
2004
Bush
53%
49%
-4
2003
Bush
60%
61%
+1
2002
Bush
84%
82%
-2
2000
Clinton
64%
63%
-1
1999
Clinton
69%
69%
0
1998
Clinton
59%
69%
+10
1997
Clinton
60%
57%
-3
1996
Clinton
46%
52%
+6
1995
Clinton
47%
49%
+2
1994
Clinton
54%
58%
+4
1992
Bush
46%
47%
+1
1991
Bush
83%
82%
-1
1990
Bush
80%
73%
-7
1988
Reagan
49%
50%
+1
1987
Reagan
48%
43%
-5
1986
Reagan
64%
63%
-1
1985
Reagan
64%
60%
-4
1984
Reagan
52%
55%
+3
1983
Reagan
37%
35%
-2
1982
Reagan
47%
47%
0
1980
Carter
56%
58%
+2
1979
Carter
43%
42%
-1
1978
Carter
55%
52%
-3
As we can see, 12 years, approval went up, 9 years it went down, and 2
years it remained unchanged. The largest increase was Clinton in 1998,
and the biggest decrease was George H. W. Bush in 1990.
The pre-address polls were taken no more than a couple of weeks before
the state of the union addresses, while the post-address polls were
taken no more than a couple of weeks following.
