Washington -
Americans' perceptions of President Barack Obama are falling not only on his handling of the economy and other big issues, but also on more personal qualities such as honesty, a poll finds.
A clear majority of adults, 56 percent, say “honest” does not describe Obama well, according to The Associated Press-GfK poll. That's worse than his 52 percent rating in an October poll.
The latest poll finds 41 percent think the president is decisive, 44 percent see him as strong and 45 percent call him inspiring.
Republicans pounded Obama this fall for repeatedly saying Americans could keep their existing insurance plans under his new health law. That turned out to be untrue in many cases, and Republicans said it proved Obama can't be trusted.
As for Obama's overall approval rating, 58 percent disapprove of the job he's doing, while 42 percent approve. Disapproval of his handling of several specific issues hovers around 60 percent. They include the economy, federal budget deficit and unemployment.
Nearly half of American adults have an unfavourable impression of Obama, and 46 percent have a favourable impression. One month before his 2012 re-election, those numbers broke in the president's favour. More than half of adults had a favourable view of Obama and 42 percent had an unfavourable view, a poll conducted by telephone found.
The president's weak ratings on these character and competency questions could make it harder for him to nudge a sharply divided Congress toward his goals in his final three years in office.
Americans hold Congress is even lower regard. Congressional approval stands at 13 percent, with 86 percent of adults disapproving. Nearly two-thirds say they would like to see their House member replaced next November, the AP-GfK poll finds.
Even though people are feeling somewhat better about the economy and their personal finances, elected officials in Washington aren't benefiting from the improved mood.
Obama isn't running for office again. But all 435 House seats and one-third of the Senate's 100 seats are on the ballot next year.
The low opinions of Congress don't necessarily signal major power shifts after that election in the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-run Senate.
House Democrats need to gain at least 17 net seats to claim the majority. But many House districts are so solidly liberal or conservative that incumbents can withstand notable drops in popularity and keep their seats.
Republicans hope to gain six Senate seats overall to retake control for the final two years of Obama's presidency.
On one major issue, most Americans continue to favour providing a path to legal status for millions of immigrants living in the US illegally. Fifty-five percent support it, and 43 percent oppose.
The Senate passed a major immigration bill that would provide a legalisation path, which Obama supports. But the House has sidelined the issue so far.
Despite the relatively low opinions of Congress and Obama, the national mood is not quite as bleak as it was in October, when partisan stalemate led to a 16-day partial government shutdown and fears of a possible default.
More Americans now say things are heading in the right direction and the economy is improving, the AP-GfK poll found. But those figures are still fairly anaemic, below 40 percent.
Democrats have a slim edge as the party Americans would prefer to control Congress, 39 percent to 33 percent. But a sizable 27
percent say it doesn't matter who's in charge.
In a sign of public discontent, 62 percent of registered voters say they would like someone new to win their congressional district next year, while 37 percent support their incumbent's re-election. That's a worrisome trend for incumbents' campaigns.
Four years ago, polls by NBC News/Wall Street Journal and Marist found fewer than half of Americans wanting their own representative ousted.
The AP-GfK Poll was conducted December 5-9 using KnowledgePanel, GfK's probability-based online panel. It involved online interviews with 1 367 adults. The survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for all respondents.
Using probability sampling methods, KnowledgePanel is designed to be representative of the US population. Respondents to the survey were first selected randomly using phone or mail survey methods and were later interviewed for this survey online. People selected for KnowledgePanel who didn't otherwise have access to the Internet were provided with the ability to access the Internet at no cost to them. - Sapa-AP