United States President Barack Obama has a reason to be worried. Americans are increasingly unhappy with his administration, proof of which is the lowest-ever job approval rating of 53 per cent that he earned during the third quarter in office (July 20 through October 19).
His first two quarters in office recorded an average approval rating of above 60 per cent. In fact, this is one blemish that Obama would like to do away with at the earliest, considering that this is the largest second-to-third quarter ratings drop in the history of the American presidency.
According to Gallup, which carried out the survey, the dominant political focus for Obama in the third quarter was the push for healthcare reform, including his nationally televised address to the Congress early September.
'Obama hoped that Congress would vote on healthcare legislation before its August recess, but that goal was missed, and some members of Congress faced angry constituents at town hall meetings to discuss healthcare reform,' the survey observed.
Obama has been facing flak from Americans over his handling of the Afghanistan war. A recent poll indicated that 43 per cent Americans disapproved of the job Obama was doing on Afghanistan against last year's 32 per cent.
A sizable majority of Americans (67 per cent) thinks the Obama administration has not 'clearly explained' what the US is trying to achieve in Afghanistan
Yet another poll, carried out by Fox News earlier this month, showed that the number of Americans saying that they would vote to re-elect President Obama had dropped from 52 per cent six months ago to 43 per cent.
Another major revelation in the poll was that only 38 per cent voters trusted President Obama's advisors, while 45 per cent thought that he was 'listening to the wrong people'.
On Obama's handling of the struggling economy, voters had an equally split reaction with 48 per cent approving of his work and 49 per cent disapproving it.
The poll also found that Obama's ratings on foreign issues were lower than his overall job ratings, as 49 per cent of those reviewed said they approved of what he was doing, while 45 per cent disapproved it.
Photograph: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
