“When he first came to office, his ratings were sky high,” said Charles Ballard, survey director and MSU economics professor. “In fact, I think there was such a euphoria upon his taking office it was unlikely for those ratings to stay the same.”

When nursing sophomore Nicole Crum voted for Obama, she had high hopes for his presidency.
“I did vote for him because I liked his change campaign, and I (thought) he could do a better job about getting the soldiers out (of the Middle East) and providing more jobs,” she said. “(But) I think, since he’s been president, nothing’s really changed.”

Still, Obama’s approval ratings have some security in his strong Democratic supporters, Ballard said.

“He still has very strong support among Democrats — not as strong as it was but still very strong,” he said. “An awful lot of (the loss in support) was among independents, but if you have a base of support, that puts a floor (on) your approval ratings.”

Nationally, between October and December 2010 the president’s approval ratings ranged between about 44 percent and 48 percent, according to Gallup, a national polling firm.

Approval in Michigan might be lower because of the poor state of the economy, Ballard said. Michigan has the fourth-highest unemployment rate in the country at 11.7 percent.

“It’s possible, although I don’t guarantee this, a portion of that different folk in Michigan are kind of grumpy,” he said. “Generally, the economy is moving forward but not nearly as fast as people would like.”

The president could handle the economic slump more effectively, graduate student Ellen Daniels said.

“I think he’s putting patches on the problem instead of getting to the root of the actual issue,” she said of the economy.

But Obama’s approval ratings in Michigan might be higher than the numbers represented in the survey a few months ago, partly because Michiganians’ view on the economy is improving, Ballard said. About 48 percent of Americans currently support his actions as president, according to Gallup.

“People are hopeful there will be an (continuation) of economic growth (and) the auto industry has stabilized,” Ballard said.

Overall, the president’s approval probably has increased nationally since the survey was taken, he said.

“Some other surveys have been taken after the State of the Union message and also after his speech in (Tucson, Ariz.) after the assembly following the assassination attempt on Gabrielle Giffords — that also was a well-received speech,” Ballard said.