Obama Approval Rating Slips to 57 Percent

CBS News Poll: President Loses Support Amid Concerns About Economy; Loss In Backing Comes From Democrats And Independents

(CBS)  President Obama's approval rating has fallen six points in the past month, a new CBS News poll finds, amid growing skepticism about his handling of the economy and questions about the impact of the stimulus package.

The president's current approval rating, which is 57 percent, is still relatively high. But it has fallen 11 points from its peak of 68 percent in April, and has also dropped since last month's mark of 63 percent. His disapproval rating, meanwhile, has risen from 23 percent in April to 32 percent today.

The decline in support is coming not from Republicans - whose support for the president has actually risen - but from Democrats and independents. While 82 percent of Democrats still approve of the job Mr. Obama is doing, this number is down ten points from last month.

The president's support among independents has fallen eight points to 50 percent. Only 30 percent of Republicans back Mr. Obama, though that's up from 23 percent in June.

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Read The Complete Poll (PDF)

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The driving issue behind the president’s decline in approval appears to be the economy. His approval rating on handling the economy is now 48 percent, while 44 percent disapprove. Last month, Americans approved of his handling of this issue by a margin of 22 points.

The optimism over the economy seen in May - when 32 percent said it was getting better and 23 percent said it was getting worse - has dissipated. Now just 21 percent say the economy is improving, while 33 percent say it is getting worse. Forty-five percent say it is staying the same.

Half of all Americans expect the recession to go on at least two more years. Fifty-seven percent say the country is on the "wrong track," up from 50 percent last month. And 44 percent describe the economy as "very bad," up from 36 percent in June.

Despite White House efforts to stress the implementation of the stimulus package, just 21 percent say it has had a positive impact on the economy. The majority of those surveyed - 60 percent - say it has had no impact, while 15 percent say the stimulus has made the economy worse.

Forty-two percent of Americans do say the stimulus will have a positive impact in the long run, however. Twenty-nine percent say it will have no impact, while 21 percent say it will make things worse.

Although the stimulus has been criticized by some for its impact on the nation’s deficit, most Americans (63 percent) are willing to accept short-term deficit increases if it means an economic boost. Thirty-one percent say they oppose raiding the deficit to stimulate the economy.

More than half of those surveyed say Mr. Obama is trying to do too much in his first few months in office, up from 38 percent in April. Just 4 percent say he is trying to do too little.

Two in five Americans are now "very concerned" about someone in their household losing their job, up from one in four in May. An additional 29 percent are somewhat concerned about a job loss. Just 30 percent say they are not concerned.

Twenty-eight percent of Americans say their household income is not enough to pay their bills, up from 22 percent last month and 17 percent in February.

Health Care:

Perceptions of the president's handling of health care reform have improved five points since last month, and his approval rating on the issue now stands at 49 percent.

That same percentage says that America must fix health care because of the bad economy. But nearly as many - 46 percent - say the country cannot now afford to reform health care. Among Republicans that figure is 55 percent.

Americans do want more government control over the health care system generally. Sixty-two percent say the government should exert more control, while 34 percent say it should not.

And sixty-four percent favor a public (or government-run) option to compete with private health care plans. Just 29 percent oppose such an option, despite strong Republican opposition.

Twelve percent of Americans say they would "definitely join" a public health care plan. Forty-three percent would consider it alongside private plans.

Thirty-one percent, meanwhile, say they would consider it only if they had no other options. And 11 percent say they would never consider it.

A majority of Americans (60 percent) say it is at least somewhat likely Mr. Obama will reform health care in his first term, though just 11 percent overall say that's "very" likely.

Foreign Affairs:

The president gets generally positive reviews on his handling of Iraq (60 percent approve) and foreign policy (53 percent approve). Sixty percent say Mr. Obama's presidency has had a positive impact on the U.S. image in the world.

Opinions of the situation in Iraq have improved since last year, though there pessimism persists. Fifty percent of those surveyed say Iraq will never become a stable democracy, down from 61 percent in May of last year. Forty-six percent say it will become a stable democracy, though the vast majority expect that to take longer than a year or two.

More Americans think Iraqis feel resentful of the United States (44 percent) than believe Iraqis feel grateful to the U.S. (38 percent) for its involvement in their country.

Fifty-eight percent say things are going well for the U.S. in Iraq, while 33 percent say they are going badly. In April, 71 percent said things were going well.

In Afghanistan, however, a majority of Americans (55 percent) say things are going badly. Just 36 percent say they are going well.

Most Americans (60 percent) say the threat of North Korea can be contained, while 23 percent say the United States should engage in military action now in response to the country's nuclear tests and launching of ballistic missiles. (That's an increase of five points from April.) Ten percent say North Korea is not a threat.

A majority of those surveyed - 56 percent - say the president is giving protestors in Iran the right amount of support. Thirteen percent say he has given too much support while fifteen percent say he has given too little.

Congress and the Vice President:

Just 15 percent of those surveyed expect Congress to accomplish a great deal, despite Democrats having secured 60 votes in the Senate.

Forty-seven percent say Congress will do "a fair amount," while 36 percent expect the legislative body to do not much or nothing.

Just 32 percent say Democrats should try to pass legislation even without Republican support. Sixty percent think the party should try to pass legislation that receives bipartisan support.

And only 22 percent approve of the job Congress is doing overall, a decrease of six points from last month though an increase over its approval rating last fall.

Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has a job approval rating of 47 percent, near where it was in April (50 percent). Twenty-six percent now disapprove, an increase of 13 points.

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This poll was conducted among a random sample of 944 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone July 9-12, 2009. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.

This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

[PJG_R]

Galluppollsare false. All credibility you may have had flew off in the republican crazy balloon once you said: Obama did not inherit a mess. What was left to Obama was quite orderly, but Obama made change... thats the mess you see.

You are truly dumb, blindly biased, or both.

[D-_A-2009]

I have faith in our President, He has only been if office a short time and I see him moving forward faster than any U.S President since President Clinton.Americans need to stop nitpicking and support our President.Remember he did not create this mess,he's only trying to clean it up. It will take time. Try not to think about which poltical party you support and just support America!!

[galluppollsarefalse]

Thats why for the first time in recorded history all of canada's provinces had a white christmas in 2007? You do not even know what global warming is.

http://www.iceagenow.com/Alaskas_Hubbard_Glacier_advancing_7_feet_per_day.htm

http://www.iceagenow.com/List_of_Expanding_Glaciers.htm

Obama did not inherit a mess. What was left to Obama was quite orderly, but Obama made change... thats the mess you see.

Capitalism does not work? are you nuts. I can at least prove that wrong, and and also prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that socialism does NOT work whatsoever.

Are you saying you want the Government to take over because of the greed and poor decisions issues? Because all these congressman and their hookers, and their embezzlements, and their tax evasions, and their real-estate schemes, and their pandering to special interest lobbies are going to make it better? Even Obama's regulatory system is based off of bribes and special "understandings." Why else would industries have the impetus to choose their regulators? And the system is designed to have no chain of command but by a collection of free radicals that can vouch for or condemn at will with no oversight. I'll tell you $$$$$$$$$$

The government is for the people BY the people. In other words it does NOT take care of the people, but rather protects the RIGHTS of the people. The government should not be the distributor of benefits.

I think you have a defensive state of mind because you cannot open it wide enough to see the big picture.

The Health care crisis is caused by the speculation of a growing population and higher numbers of contributors versus retirees/non-contributors. The neutral to negative birth rate is key here.

Health Care in both countries have different pros and cons. In America you will receive competent health care regardless of your race, gender, age, and status. In Canada those are all factor in deciding what priority you have to be treated and with what sense of urgency. In canada they live longer and have a lower infant mortality. We have over twice the facilities and technology per person than Canada, and more personnel. We spend more money on health care. Canada has less malpractice litigation (see democrat congressman and and ambulance chasers.) Defensive medicine in America consumes 9% of healthcare costs and .27 % in Canada. It goes on. I just know this is a situation that does not need to be rushed like the bailout. All sides need to be heard. Smear campaigns from the White House are not giving me warm and fuzzies when we are talking about a critical issue like this. The bailout was embarrassing enough.

[prodeath]

listen u rethugs, if u think Obama was born in a foreign country. Prove it u ignorant haters. U know what, u can't prove it because he was born in USA. Ur still sore about losing the election. GET OVER IT! U come over like ur a bunch of stupid hillbillys. OH yea, u are a bunch of stupid hillbillys. Ur stupid WBush left this guy a huge, huge mess and u blame him for it. Well Jethro and Ellie Mae, sit back while he cleans up ur Bush mess u stupid morons!!!

[mary-miami]

President Obama has been in office approximately six months. All his plans need more time to take effect. He is doing a good job of following up on his campaign promises, which is a respectable thing.
Republicans are always going to criticize Democrats because conservatives are not open minded people...it was their right wing policies that created this Depression to begin with. If McCain had won the election, he would not have "fixed" the economy yet either, because the mess Bush created is so bad that it can't be fixed in so short a time. If President Obama succeeds in leading our nation out of this Depression, he will be a national hero.

[PatrioticAmericanNumber1]

Have any of you Republicans actually looked at any facts yet. The first subrpime was not issued until 2002. The Republicans spent 6 of the 8 years derregulating the systems and allowing the wealthy to rob the country blind. The took the polic off the streets of the financial markets. Meanwhile keeping a pitiful trade deficit and selling jobs to India and China and promoting outsourcing. Each policy short sited and based on greed. All of your opinions are for not. You don't have to sell to me Republican Policy, I have been living with it. It is a shame what you have done to this county. George Bush and the Neocons have completely dismantled the country and left us in a very bad way. You Republicans supported the demise the whole way. How can you call yourself a patriot? We are all Americans. You just try to divide the country. That does not work anymore. I wish that every republican that supported this mess over the years could go stand in a bread line. Reap what you have sewn.

Obama is left with a losing hand. What about the wars? Did we get Bin Ladin? Can we afford it all? Could we afford it all? Not to mention the greatest fall in the financial system since the 1930's. This all happened under Republican rule. The Republicans put thier "Trickle Down" economic theory into place again, but this time, it destroyed the Republic. Please do not ever try that again. The wealthy are not going to spend the money if you give it to them. They are going to hoard it. Now, we have China beating us at Capitalism, yet running a communist regime on the social level. That did not work out for us.

Wake up Republicans. You screwed it up. And now, we are all paying the price. What was McCain's plan? What breadline would you have signed up for under that plan?

[PJG_R]

HE'S BEEN IN OFFICE FOR 6 MONTHS!!!! FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!!! HE WAS HANDED 2 WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGANASTAN, NOT TO MENTION A PANDEMIC, IRAN, N.KOREA, A FAILING HEALTH CARE SYSTEM, A HOUSING AND CREDIT CRISIS AND AN ECONOMIC METLTDOWN NOT SEEN IN 80 YEARS! DO PEOPLE REALLY THINK THIS WAS ALL GOING TO BE CLEARED UP IN 6 MONTHS. AS FAR AS THE STIMULOUS IT HASN'T EVEN BEEN SPENT YET. THEY'VE SPENT 40 BILLION OUT OF THE 750. AND WHATS BEEN SPENT HAS SAVED MANY JOBS FOR COPS, TEACHERS, FIREMEN AND HEALTHCARE WORKERS. I THINK EVERYONE NEEDS TO LET THE MAN DO HIS JOB.

[aazippo2]

Thats cause all he does is GIVE SPEECHES about all the great things he wants to do yet Main Street America continues to suffer!

RT
www.anonymize.tk

[ltair_1]

A couple things...

1. Just because someone critcizes Obama, does not automatically make them a racist. I happy to see we have come so far in this country that a man of color has finally made it to the white house. However, as my president, as all before, we have the right to critcize and question. I like my freedoms and want to make sure I an still entitled to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

2. I think that the Democrats have good ideas, but things are moving too quickly. I think there plan is to get in all legislation before November so the balance of power doesn't shift againest them. Slow down and think it through! We don't need new policies and taxes that will hurt the American people.

3. I get every M-F and drag my butt into work. I have a white-collar job and let me tell you I work hard to keep the sales of small company afloat. I want to help out my fellow man who is less fortunate than I am, but I don't want to help people who will not help themselves. Let's find ways to help the less fortunate get on their feet without the taxpayers paying for their lifestyle. In NC people on welfare get free cell phones!

4. Obama is not bringing us together as promised. His adminstration has no concept of what the recession is doing to the working man and raising my taxes isn't helping me! I am ready for some smart thinking in Washington. Bush wasn't great, but I am thinking Obama's policies may be worse.

5. What is up with not having the czars confirmed or even vetted? Ever heard of the constitution? CHECKS AND BALANCES! That is what our system of government was founded upon!

[pepperwood2]

I like my freedoms and want to make sure I an still entitled to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Pursuit of Happiness. Don't forget The American Dream that is being replaced by the American Scheme that Obama & Czars have substituted for The Working Stiffs, as Arnold would call us. The Cap & Trade Scheme, Tax & Spend Scheme, Bailout Schemes, GW Scheme, Etc. All Designed Schemes thought up by this Administration so that THE American People can pursue the rest of our working days paying for Schemes. Providing any jobs remain or become available. So Sad!

[edward1975-2009]

Democrats are finally waking up and realizing what the rest of the nation already knew, your party duped you. They took a junior memeber of the party and elevated him to the top position, with no experience, and ran him for President. They knew they could control him, coupled him with a complete idiot, Nancy Pelosi, and allowed them to run wild. Democratic Party has achieved their desired goal, ushering in Socialism to America at an unprecedented level. They have all but wiped out the middle class. And have bankrupted this nation for decades to come. This is a change we could have done without.

[pepperwood2]

10 Reasons Employment Is Worse Than You Think

From The Business Insider, July 14, 2009:

Mort Zuckerman (of all people) has an op-ed in today's WSJ explaining why the jobs situation, which is quite clearly horrific, is even worse than you think.

Here are his points, condensed

* 185,000 workers in the June number were the product of statistical sampling, but could not be verified by the government.
* Companies are asking employees to take unpaid leave.
* 1.4 million unemployed workers weren't counted because they're not searching for work.
* Part-time employment has doubled to 9 million.
* The work week is 48 minutes shorter than when the recession began.
* The number of long-term unemployed (4.4 million) is at an all-time high.
* There were no wage gains in June.
* The goods-producing sector lost over 223,000 jobs just in June.
* When business picks up, businesses will just add hours to existing workers, rather than create new jobs.
* Old business lines are being eliminated entirely, not shrunk down, decreasing the odds that the unemployed will be able to find work.

Says Zuck: It's time for a serious second stimulus -- not a hodge podge of pork and transfer payments, but a truly big and bold infrastructure program (like what we were promised the first time, but which didn't happen) to put people to work.

[grabandgo]

rastings will keep dropping as nobama keeps spending and spending with no results being show to benefit most Americans.

[tiredofthebs]

Is there ANYBODY out there who feels like ME? Like this story is a waste of (CYBER) space?! People ...... your opinion ONLY MATTERS to a politician around election season. That's the cold hard truth. If you are naive enough to believe that everyday people's needs are considered when policy is drafted, then I got a bridge in NY to sell you.

[randomlybanned]

Republicans approve of his job performance because he is doing so badly that they are sure to win big in 2010 and 2012!!!

[atlantic101]

OH Goodness...........................

[atlantic101]

OH Goodness...........................

[velma179]

Anyone -- Republican, Democrat, Independent... whatever -- who puts their confidence in polling statistics is going to be happy on one occasion and unhappy on another.

OKAY -- ONE MORE TIME SO THE WHOLE CLASS HEARS:

In politics - The ONLY polls that count are the ones with ballots.

[ricoben]

wow! i guess we just discovered that the presidency is all about polling numbers, uh? what happened the last eight years? were we all asleep?

[Joe_NY_15]

Republicans weren't the one praising the approval poll numbers for the past 6 months....Libs lived on poll numbers to prove how great the great-O was....so when it's not going so well, you abandon the poll numbers ?? sorry, your celebrity's stardom is falling

[Joe_NY_15]

.......Obama Approval Slips..........

"Loss In Backing Comes From Both Democrats And Independents"

Say hello to a Republican control of Congress in 2010 !!!!

[ancoraimpar]

Mr. Obama can only take us so far whether his approval rathing drops or not. Times as hard and we have no option but to ride this one out. We cannot expect him to run the government alone while we sit back and complain. How can we help him move our country forward? Do we really want to get out of the mud bath we've created? What are we willing to do? Can we put our own interests aside and work together to move ahead?