Obama’s approval rises with improving economy

WASHINGTON, (AP): AS MANY in the United States hold their noses in the search for the next president, they’re increasingly warming to the president they already have.

Buoyed by some good economic news and a surge of goodwill from his base of supporters, President Barack Obama is seeing his approval rating rise. That puts Obama, who leaves office in January, in a position to remain a force in the political debate at a point in his final term when some others faded into the background.

For the first time since 2013, half of those questioned approve of the job Obama is doing in office, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll. The survey found the apparent uptick in approval extended across issues, including foreign affairs, immigration and, most notably, the economy, where people said they felt slightly better about their own prospects and Obama’s stewardship.

Asked about their opinion of Obama, more generally, those surveyed were more likely to give him a positive rating than any of the candidates for president, Republican or Democrat.

Terry Trudeau, 66, said he preferred Obama to “all of them” running for the White House.

“One of the qualities I like is he’s been able to work with other countries and make deals,” Trudeau said, citing Obama’s climate-change pacts with China as an example. “Donald Trump will never be able to do that. He would try to bully them.”

Obama’s numbers remain modest.

United States’ President Barack Obama.