Hide the decline!  Barack Obama’s job approval rating dropped to a new low in yet another survey, this time in the respected Quinnipiac survey.  Obama can only muster an anemic 46% approval overall, with 44% disapproving and 10% on the sidelines.  His domestic-agenda priority now has even lower support, and Obama is seriously underwater on a number of issues:

American voters give President Barack Obama a split 46 – 44 percent job approval, his lowest ever, and both the health care reform package that he wants Congress to pass and his personal rating on handling health care now win support from less than four in 10 Americans, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Voters disapprove 52 – 38 percent of the health care reform proposal under consideration in Congress, and they disapprove 56 – 38 percent of President Obama’s handling of health care, down from 53 – 41 percent in a November 19 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh- pe-ack) University. …

“It’s a good thing for those pushing the health care overhaul in Congress that the American people don’t get a vote. At this time, supporters are down 14 percentage points,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

To provide a little more context for that, Obama won his election in November by half of that spread.  That was not considered a close election, either.

The downward decline has picked up speed, too.   It may be hard to recall this, but just six- months ago, Obama had a 59% approval rating, with only 31% disapproving.  Two months ago, he still had a 50/41 split.  It’s worse among independents, though.  He’s underwater by 14 points, 37/51, an eleven-point plunge from last month’s 43/46.  Six months ago, independents gave Obama a 27-point gap to the good, which means he’s flipped 41 points in just six months among this key group.

Over that same six-month period of time, Obama has had a 37-point flip on the economy, too: he’s 41/54 now, as opposed to 57/33 in June.  He’s been underwater for most of that same time on health care, the last three months in double digits, so the 18-point deficit at 38/56 now is more evolutionary than sudden.

The combination of results from various pollsters shows that Obama has entered a free-fall on his approval ratings.  Robert Gibbs can blame Gallup all he wants, but these results vindicate Gallup and show that his boss has a real problem.  People have begun to realize that this emperor wears no clothes.