Obama approval at 46%, says … CBS

Well, I had a big post that WordPress ate just a few minutes ago, but the gist of the latest polling is that Barack Obama has … had a really bad day.  You know it’s bad when the CBS/NYT poll fails to lift Obama, and at 46% with 45% disapproving, this isn’t going to help him move the averages up as it normally would:

As the lagging economy continues to weigh on people’s minds, the American public is more disapproving than ever of President Obama’s job performance, the latest CBS News/New York Times poll finds.

Mr. Obama’s job approval rating stands at 46 percent, matching his previous low from early January. As many as 45 percent of Americans disapprove of the job he is doing – his highest disapproval rating to date. More than anything, Americans are critical of how Mr. Obama is handling domestic issues like the economy.

Unlike with previous CBS/NYT polls, the sampling on this is extraordinarily accurate.  The D/R/I in the unweighted sample is 32/29/29, and in the weighted sample, 30/28/42.  That may oversample independents a bit at the expense of the two parties, but it’s a lot closer to reality than anything normally seen in this poll.

The news is almost across-the-board bad:

The president has clearly slipped in public estimation in the last few months when it comes to economic issues – which Americans name as the most important problem facing the country. Fifty-two percent of Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of the economy. Additionally, 58 percent disapprove of Mr. Obama’s handling of the budget deficit, up 15 points from July.

Most Americans do not think the president has a clear plan for creating jobs. While 39 percent say he does, 56 percent say he does not.

There is a lot more in the poll breakout, but here are a few highlights:

• Economy – down 10, 42/52
• Health care – down 20, 35/55
• Deficits – down 27, 31/58
• More people feel angry or dissatisfied (51%) at the Obama administration than enthusiastic or satisfied (47%)
• 56% think he has no clear plan to create jobs
• Those who see the economy as bad have increased from 77% to 83% in the last two months
• 52% think Obama has not spent enough time on the economy
• 48% think Obama has spent too much time on health care
• 56% want the federal government to get smaller and provide fewer services
• 53% think we can’t afford to reform the health-care system, up from 42% in September

The poll indicates that the American electorate has begun to lose patience with its rookie Chief Executive, and it corroborates the other depressing poll numbers that Obama has received in the last few weeks.

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