Poll: Obama leaves office with 58 percent favorability

President Obama will leave the White House with a 58 percent favorability rating, a new poll finds. 

A Gallup poll conducted two weeks before Obama leaves office found that more than half of Americans view the president favorably.

{mosads}

Obama reached his peak favorability rating of 78 percent before his own inauguration in January 2009, according to Gallup. He averaged 53 percent favorability over his two terms in the White House.

Obama’s final marks before he leaves office exceed that of his predecessor, George W. Bush, who departed with a 40 percent favorability. Bill Clinton had a 57 percent rating before he left office, just one point less than Obama’s. George H.W. Bush left the White House in January 1993 with a 62 percent rating.

Gallup first began measuring presidential ratings using the favorable vs. unfavorable format in 1992.

First lady Michelle Obama has her husband beat. She leaves the White House with a 68 percent favorability, the same mark she entered the White House with, according to Gallup.

Vice President Joe Biden also leaves the White House with a higher rating than the president — 61 percent of Americans have a positive view of Biden.

Gallup’s survey was based on interviews conducted January 4-8 of a random sample of 1,032 adults. The poll has a 4 point margin of error.