Public Preference for a GOP Congress Marks a New Low in Obama’s Approval

[4-2-7]

Public Preference for a GOP Congress Marks a New Low in Obama’s Approval

Weary of waiting for an economic recovery worth its name, a frustrated American public has sent Barack Obama’s job approval rating to a career low – with a majority in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll favoring a Republican Congress to act as a check on his policies.
Registered voters by 53-39 percent in the national survey say they’d rather see the Republicans in control of Congress as a counterbalance to Obama’s policies than a Democratic-led Congress to help support him. It was similar in fall 2010, when the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives and gained six Senate seats.
See PDF with full results and charts here.
Obama’s job approval rating, after a slight winter rebound, has lost 5 points among all adults since March, to 41 percent, the lowest of his presidency by a single point. Fifty-two percent disapprove, with “strong” disapproval exceeding strong approval by 17 percentage points. He’s lost ground in particular among some of his core support groups.
Economic discontent remains the driving element in political views in this survey, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates. Americans rate the condition of the economy negatively by 71-29 percent – the least bad since November 2007, but still dismal by any measure. Only 28 percent think the economy’s improving, down by 9 points since just before Obama won his second term. He gets just 42 percent approval for handling it.
Economic views are strongly related to political preferences. Among people who see the economy improving, 65 percent prefer Democratic control of Congress, while among those who see the economy as stagnant or worsening, 62 percent favor Republican control. Notably, economic views are linked with preferences for control of Congress regardless of people’s partisan affiliation.
The results suggest the corrosive effects of the long downturn on the president’s popularity: Among those who say the economy is in bad shape, Obama’s overall approval rating has lost 20 points since February 2012, from 46 percent then to 26 percent now.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics...amas-approval/