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AP
WASHINGTON
US President Barack Obama will leave office on Friday with his highest approval rating since first year in office, his presidency largely viewed as a success and a majority saying they will miss him when he is gone, according to a new poll.
A CNN/ORC poll has found that Obama's approval rating stands at 60 per cent, his best mark since June of his first year in office.
Compared with other outgoing presidents, Obama lands near the top of the list, outranked only by Bill Clinton's 66% in January 2001 and Reagan's 64% in January 1989.
About two-thirds say Obama's presidency was a success, including about half who say that was due to Obama's personal strengths rather than circumstances outside his control.
Amid those glowing reviews, one-quarter of Americans (25%) say Obama is one of the nation's greatest presidents, far outpacing the share who felt that way about other recent presidents as their terms ended (11% described Reagan that way, 10 per cent Clinton, and 5% or fewer said so about either President Bush).
Still, nearly as many (23 percent) call Obama a poor president, more than said so about Reagan, Clinton or the first president Bush, but well below the 46 per cent who said George W Bush was a poor president as he prepared to leave the White House.
That assessment of Obama's presidency, as well as his approval ratings, are marked by sharp partisan divides.
While 54 percent of Democrats consider Obama one of the greatest presidents, 54 per cent of Republicans call him a poor president.
Though he has earned near universal approval among Democrats (95 percent approve), just 18 per cent of Republicans say they approve of how he handled the presidency.
That gap explains the difference between Obama's approval rating and those of the two former presidents who left office with higher marks.
