Amid intensifying opposition to his health-care reform plans, public confidence in US President Barack Obama's leadership is dwindling with his support now pegged at an all-time low at 49 per cent, down from 60 per cent at the 100-day mark in the White House.
Among all Americans, 49 per cent now express confidence that Obama will make the right decisions for the country, down from 60 per cent at the 100-day mark in his presidency, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Forty-nine per cent now say they think he will be able to spearhead significant improvements in the system, down nearly 20 percentage points from before he took office on January 20 as the first black-American president.
As challenges to Obama's initiatives have mounted, pessimism in America has risen: Fifty-five per cent see things as pretty seriously on the wrong track, up from 48 per cent in April, the poll noted.
Disapproval of Obama's handling of the health-care issue reached 50 per cent in the new poll, the highest of his presidency, and 42 per cent of those surveyed say they now "strongly disapprove" of the way he is dealing with his main domestic priority.
But there has been a notable increase in optimism about the length of the recession plaguing the country: Half of all Americans expect it to be over within the next 12 months. In February, just 28 per cent said the recession would end that rapidly.
{{/usCountry}}But there has been a notable increase in optimism about the length of the recession plaguing the country: Half of all Americans expect it to be over within the next 12 months. In February, just 28 per cent said the recession would end that rapidly.
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