CBS Poll: Obama Hits All-Time Low In Approval Ratings

Fri, 04/02/2010 - 1:06pm | posted by Doug Mataconis

Bad news for the Obama Administration in a new CBS News poll being released today:

President Obama’s overall job approval rating has fallen to an all-time low of 44 percent, down five points from late March, just before the health bill’s passage in the House of Representatives. It’s down 24 points since his all-time high last April. Forty-one percent of those polled said they disapproved of the president’s performance.

It gets worse when you look at the health care numbers:

When it comes to health care, the President’s approval rating is even lower — and is also a new all-time low. Only 34 percent approved, while 55 percent said they disapproved.

And, if you’re wondering what the 2010 elections are going to be focusing on, it’s the economy, stupid:

Americans are still worried about the economy, with 84 percent telling CBS they thought it was still in bad condition. However, even that high number represents an improvement: nine in ten thought the economy was bad during the last half of 2008 and at the beginning of 2009, when Mr. Obama assumed the Presidency.

(…)

This concern is reflected in yet another low approval rating — this time for the President’s handling of the economy. Just 42 percent said they approved of how President Obama is handling the economy, only one point above January’s all-time low. Half of the public disapproves.

More than the health care bill, I believe that it’s going to be the economy that decides the fate of Obama’s approval numbers, and the number of Democrats in Congress, as Election Day 2010 approaches, as I stated many months ago:

I think that what happens in 2010 will end up being determined by something fairly simple; the state of the economy. If the economy improves, then Obama gets the credit and we’re unlikely to see any significant Republican gains in 2010; if that improvement continues through 2012, then we could be looking at a repeat of 1996. If the economy doesn’t improve, then Obama gets the blame and pays the price

We will get our first clues on that at about 8:30 this morning when the March unemployment figures are released.