House Speaker John A. Boehner’s favorable ratings have ticked back up to where they were before the partial shutdown of the federal government in October, but the Ohio Republican is still playing catch-up with President Obama in the court of public opinion.
Thirty-two percent of Americans view Mr. Boehner favorably, compared to 50 percent who have an unfavorable view of him, according to a Gallup survey released Wednesday. That’s up from a 27 percent/51 percent favorable/unfavorable split from late last year.
President Obama, meanwhile, has a 52 percent/46 percent favorable/unfavorable split in the poll. His favorable ratings have generally hovered between the low and high 50s during his presidency, though he did enjoy the high water mark of a 78/18 favorable/unfavorable split in early 2009 soon after being elected the first time.
The poll comes a day after the two met one-on-one at the White House.
Gallup’s Justin McCarthy wrote that presidents generally command a much higher favorability rating than the House Speakers who serve concurrently, giving Mr. Obama “considerable power in the court of public opinion as the two leaders joust on a series of issues and policy proposals facing the country.”
“Boehner is no exception to this, and lower favorability usually comes with his role in the political process,” Mr. McCarthy wrote.
The survey of 1,023 adults was conducted Feb. 6-9 and has a margin of error of four points.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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