Out of office for 9 yrs, Bill more popular than Barack

WASHINGTON: Former US president Bill Clinton is currently more-liked by Americans than both of his successors, according to the latest Gallup poll, in which Barack Obama stands at his lowest favourable rating.
While 61% of the Americans who polled viewed Clinton favourably, his successors Barack Obama and George Bush scored 52% and 45% respectively, Gallup said in its latest opinion poll.
Moreover, in an indication that he was loved by party opponents as well, Democrats hold similar opinions about Clinton, whose term ended in 2001, and Obama but Republicans and independents hold more positive views with regard to Clinton than the incumbent.
Partisan impressions of Bush and Obama are mirror images, according to the poll.
Independents, however, view Bush less favourably than Obama (37%vs 50%). This is the first time in a Gallup poll that Clinton's favourable rating has exceeded Obama's.
At the same time, Obama's 52% favourable rating now ties his lowest since he entered the White House. Obama's favourable rating first fell to 52% in March, and has since stayed in that range, the poll said.
Clinton's rating has increased considerably since the 2008 presidential election campaign (and before Hillary Clinton assumed the role of secretary of state), rising to 61% from 52% in August 2008. Since 2008, Clinton's favourable rating is up 10 percentage points among Democrats (from 79% to 89%), nine points among independents (from 51% to 60%), and 12 points among Republicans (from 18% to 30%).