(07/23/12) -

Approval for Obama Falls in the United States; Congress Still Low

While only 16 per cent of respondents are satisfied with Congress, 44 per cent say their own Representative is doing a good job.

Public support for Barack Obama in the United States fell to its lowest level in six months, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,003 American adults, 46 per cent of respondents approve of the way the U.S. president is handling his duties (-3 since May), while 49 per cent (+3) disapprove.

Obama has his best numbers in the Midwest (50%), but continues to hold a low approval rating in the South (43%).

The level of strong approval for the president fell to 16 per cent this month, and one third of Americans (33%) say they strongly disapprove of his actions.

The U.S. Congress continues to post low numbers, with only 16 per cent of respondents (-1) saying they approve of the performance of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Three-in-five Americans (76%, +1) are dissatisfied with their federal lawmakers.

Respondents in the West (18%) give Congress a slightly better rating than the rest of the country. Just two per cent of Americans strongly approve of the legislative branch, while 45 per cent strongly disapprove of its performance.

Despite the continued low marks for Congress, Americans are more kind to their own congressional representative, with 44 per cent saying they approve of the job he or she is doing, and 32 per cent saying they disapprove.

The highest level of satisfaction with local representatives is observed in the Northeast (49%) and the lowest in the West (41%).

Analysis

With an election looming, less than one-in-five Americans are satisfied with the way Congress is performing. However, the animosity is not as pronounced when respondents are asked to gauge their own representative.

Barack Obama is now back at the same level of approval he had at the start of this election year, with practically three-in-five Independents (58%) saying they disapprove of his actions.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

Methodology: From July 18 to July 19, 2012, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,003 American adults who are Springboard America panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of the United States. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.