Carter Country

If you’re president, the last thing you want to hear is yourself being compared to Jimmy Carter. Most of what we remember from the Carter years are bad: double-digit inflation and interest rates, an embassy held hostage, high energy prices and more. Bad news for President Barack Obama: He’s looking up at Carter in a USA Today/Gallup Poll that tracks approval ratings for the last 12 presidents. At this point in his presidency, Carter had a 60 percent favorability rating. Obama’s is 55 percent, down nine points since inauguration day. At the six-month point Obama ranks 10th among the 12 presidents who’ve served since World War II. The good news: a high rating after six months doesn’t necessarily predict a successful presidency — Carter and President George H.W. Bush both had high marks at this point but failed to win re-election.

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