Obama’s 2012 re-election hopes hinge on his ability to lower unemployment and soothe Americans’ worries over the state of the nation’s finances. On his watch, Americans witnessed the first ever credit downgrade of US government bonds in early August. Today’s graphic looks at how Obama’s job approval rating has changed since he first entered office. The graph also designates a few major events that occurred during his time as president. The bottom half of the graphic compares Obama’s rating to that of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. How do you think Obama’s approval rating will fare in the final year of his first (and possibly only) term as President?