Americans with the most education tend to support President Barack Obama more than any other group, according to survey research.

Obama’s job approval rating, which has averaged 50 percent since Dec. 1, continues to be significantly above that average among Americans with postgraduate education, a group among which Obama enjoys the support of 58 percent, according to a just released Gallup poll.

Among educational groups, only postgraduates show a rating above the majority level.

Postgraduates were a key constituency in Obama’s winning 2008 presidential-primary and general-election coalitions, and have been Obama’s top supporters among educational groups throughout his presidency.

Since July, when Obama last registered an approval rating of 60 percent, the gap in his approval rating between postgraduates and other educational groups has grown, with his support declining proportionately less among postgraduates than among the other groups.

The bottom line, according to Gallup: The support of postgraduates, who tend to be more liberal and Democratic in their political orientation, was important to Obama’s being elected president. Since he has become president, postgraduates have been among his more reliable supporters, backing him at higher levels than do those in other educational groups.

Hmmm. Wonder why?

Results are based on telephone interviews with 25,387 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Dec. 1, 2009-Jan. 26, 2010, as part of Gallup Daily tracking. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum margin of error is plus or minus one percentage point.

© 2010, Glynn Wilson. All rights reserved.