Other questions showed much more modest change. The percentage of adults who expect improvement over the next year in their personal financial situation—as opposed to the national economy—only edged up from 39 percent in June to 43 percent now; 44 percent still expect no change, while 10 percent anticipate they will lose ground. Republicans, with 56 percent currently expecting gains, are much more optimistic than Democrats or Independents.

The share of adults who describe the national economy as “excellent” or “good” improved from 21 percent in June to a still-restrained 29 percent now. Ratings for Congress saw an even more limited bump: from 13 percent approval in June to just 17 percent now.

Obama enjoyed a modest gain on another key question the Heartland Monitor has tracked since he took office. In the new survey, adults split almost exactly in thirds over his impact on their personal economic opportunities: Thirty-four percent said he had increased opportunity for people like them to get ahead, 33 percent said he had decreased their opportunities, and 30 percent said he had not affected their opportunities. That 34 percent who believe he’s helped them, though still modest, is actually the highest level since two polls in the fall of 2012. This is the first time since the November 2012 survey immediately after Obama’s reelection when more people said he had improved than diminished their opportunities. The share of whites (26 percent) that said Obama has helped in the new survey was the highest since November 2012, while the share of non-whites (51 percent) was the highest since May 2015. Still only about one in five whites without a college degree say Obama’s agenda has improved their opportunities.

In this final grading of his presidency, Obama’s approval rating touched second-term peaks across a wide array of groups. It reached 90 percent among Democrats, his best showing since November 2012; 54 percent among Independents, the highest since May 2011; 77 percent among non-whites, the best since November 2012; and 46 percent among whites—the most since July 2009. He even nudged up to 41 percent among whites without a college degree, which is his best number with them since November 2012, and 17 percent among Republicans—his highest since May 2011.

But Obama, as well as Hillary Clinton, faltered on the measure that mattered most of all. Among the poll respondents who disapproved of Obama and indicated that they voted in the presidential election, 88 percent said they backed Trump. But among the respondents who approved of Obama and indicated that they voted, just 81 percent supported Clinton. That was very similar to the results of the exit polls conducted on Election Day by a consortium of media outlets, which found that 84 percent of Obama approvers backed Clinton, while 89 percent of disapprovers supported Trump.