Obama’s approval ratings slump – poll

UNITED STATES

PRESIDENT Barack Obama’s approval ratings have slumped to a historic low, according to a new poll, as his second term lurches from crisis to crisis at home and abroad.

The stop-start approach to Syria, the scandal over US mass surveillance and the botched launch of healthcare reform had shaken Americans’ faith in their president, according to an NBC/ Wall Street Journal survey.

While the poll also found record levels of hostility towards the Republican Party, the White House will be concerned that Obama’s job approval and Americans’ view of him personally are falling.

About 51 per cent disapproved of the job he was doing in the Oval Office compared with 42 per cent who approved.

His ratings were also hit by the rollout of his healthcare law, which his own health secretary admitted this week had been a ‘‘debacle’’. The poll found 47 per cent thought the reforms were a bad idea, compared with 37 per cent who supported it.

While Obama will never again face re-election, the sagging numbers threaten his hopes for a productive second term and especially plans to reform America’s immigration system.

‘‘This was the period where the president hoped to get traction,’’ said Peter Hart, a Democratic pollster who conducted the poll. ‘‘Instead, a confluence of these different events have come together to create a certain doubt and uncertainty about his leadership.’’

Although Obama’s job approval rating has fallen into negative territory before, his personal approval ratings have always held firm. Now, about 45 per cent of Americans view him negatively, compared with 41 per cent who see him positively.