Overall, Obama’s approval was at 41 percent for September, Gallup said today. That tied August as the worst monthly job approval of Obama’s presidency.
Pure Independents were far less likely than Democrats to approve of the job Obama was doing in September, according to Gallup. During the month, 79 percent of liberal Democrats said they approved of the job Obama was doing, 70 percent of moderate Democrats said so, and 64 percent of conservative Democrats.
When Gallup does its polling of presidential job approval, it asks respondents who say they are Independents whether they lean toward the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. Pure Independents are those who say they do not belong to or lean toward either party.
“Ideological tendencies by leaned party affiliation are very similar to those of straight partisan groups,” said Gallup in a 2009 analysis of presidential approval levels. “However, it is worth noting the views of pure independents--a group usually too small to analyze in individual surveys but potentially important in deciding elections. Exactly half of pure independents describe their views as moderate, 30% say they are conservative, and 17% liberal.”
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