According to LIZ SIDOTI, AP National Political Writer, President Barack Obama earned his lowest marks ever on his handling of the economy in a new Associated Press-GfK poll, which also found that an overwhelming majority of Americans now describe the nation's financial outlook as poor in record time (i.e., yesterday it has been 18 months since Mr. Obama took office). A whopping 81 percent of people now call the economy poor or very poor, up from 72 percent in June, and just 12 percent say it has improved in the past month, compared with 19 percent in June. Both are record measurements since AP-GfK started asking those questions (Newsmax.com, 18 Aug 2010).
Eleven weeks before the Nov. 2 balloting, just 41 percent of those surveyed approve of the president's performance on the economy, down from 44 percent in April, while 56 percent disapprove. And 61 percent say the economy has gotten worse or stayed the same on Obama's watch. Democrats are keenly aware that they face strong headwinds; 60 percent of people say the country's headed in the wrong direction. And it's hard to overstate the importance of the economy to voters; 91 percent of Americans say it's a top problem, with unemployment close behind (Newsmax.com, 18 Aug 2010).
Obama is suffering in other areas, too.
Just 34 percent now call him an above average or outstanding president, down from 42 percent in January. And 28 percent call him average, while 38 percent say he's even worse. Marks on how people view him personally have fallen: 89 percent liked him personally in January, but now 82 percent do (Newsmax.com, 18 Aug 2010).