President Barack Obama will try to launch a political comeback this week amid the lowest approval ratings of his presidency, according to a new joint Wall Street Journal NBC News poll published Tuesday.
The survey found that 44 percent of Americans approved of the job Obama was doing as president, with more than half, or 51 percent, disapproving for the first time since his inauguration.
Some 73 percent said the country was headed in the wrong direction, a level of pessimism not seen since late 2008, as the financial crisis struck.
More than 70 percent of people surveyed said the economy has not yet hit bottom. Most Americans still said the president inherited the nation’s economic maladies from President George W. Bush rather than caused them, although that number was slipping.
Voters appeared to be looking for a new direction. By 44 percent to 40 percent, Americans now said they were more likely to vote Republican next year than for Obama’s re-election. In June, the president held the edge, 45 percent to 40 percent. The president was losing support from key groups, including political independents, women and Hispanic people.
The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll was based on nationwide telephone interviews of 1,000 adults, including a sample of 200 adults who only use a cell phone. It was conducted from Aug. 27-31, 2011, by the polling organizations of Peter D. Hart and Bill McInturff.
To read more, go to The Wall Street Journal.