Obama: 47 pct approval, new Gallup low

EPA: Greenhouse Gases Endanger Public
Agency Announces Gases Must be Regulated Because They Pose Threat to Public Health
Obama: 47 pct approval, new Gallup low

by Mark Silva

President Barack Obama's job approval in the Gallup Poll's daily tracking survey today -- 47 percent -- marks a new low for the president's job ratings.

Obama's approval has fallen below 50 percent in recent Gallup tracking, and had reached a low of 48 percentage points before today's report, the average of surveys taken over the past three days.

"Any slight bump in support Obama received coincident with his new Afghanistan policy proved to be very short-lived, as his approval rating returned to below the majority level by the weekend, and slipped further to 47 percent in Dec. 4-6 polling,'' Gallup's Jeffrey Jones reports.

"Afghanistan is just one of many high-profile issues with which the president is dealing, Jones notes. "Immediate public reaction to his new Afghanistan policy showed 51 [percemt in favor and 40 perccent opposed, according to a Dec. 2 USA Today/Gallup poll....

" Additionally, in recent days Obama has been ramping up his focus on finding ways to create jobs for out-of-work Americans, and is planning a major speech on Tuesday outlining his ideas for spurring job creation. In late November, Gallup found slight majorities of Americans disapproving of the way Obama was handling job creation and the economy more generally.''

So far in December, Obama has averaged 50 percent job approval in the Gallup tracking, which found his approval rating at 69 percent days after inauguration.

Gallup reports: "That is similar to the December averages for Ronald Reagan (49 percent) and Bill Clinton (53 percent), who also took office when the economy was struggling."

Obama To Deliver Speech On Economy

Sandwiched between his speech on the Afghanistan troop build-up last week and two international speeches later this week, President Obama will deliver an economic policy address Tuesday. Patience with the pace of government action is running short on Capitol Hill, and many Democrats fear the public is starting to question whether Obama feels their pain.