Obama's Approval Rating Softens

Two candidates are basically sharing first place at this point

(NEWSER) - Three polls, three declarations about Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum: virtual tie, statistical tie, and essential tie. According to Pew , Gallup , and the New York Times/CBS News , Romney officially has some company at the top following Santorum's wins in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri :

• Pew's poll, released yesterday, puts Santorum at 30% to Romney's 28% among Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters. Santorum easily captures the top spot among Tea Party Republican voters (42% to 23%) and evangelical Republican voters (41% to 23%). One bright spot for Romney: 70% of his supporters believe the GOP would back him if he becomes the nominee; only 54% of Santorum's supporters feel the same.

Numbers are lower in nearly every area since 2010

(NEWSER) - More data from the latest Gallup poll is trickling out, and—surprise, surprise!—it's not good news for President Obama. When it comes to handling the economy, his approval rating has sunk to a new low of 26%. That's down 11 percentage points since mid-May; his previous low was 35% in November 2010. A whopping 71% disapprove of his handling of the economy—a new high, ABC News notes. Not to mention, just 24% approve of his handling of the federal budget deficit, and 29% approve of his job creation tactics. More»

54% disapprove of how president's doing his job, only 39% approve

(NEWSER) - President Obama's approval rating has hit an all-time low, with just 39% of Americans satisfied with how he's handling his job, the latest Gallup poll has found. The poll found 54% of Americans disapprove of Obama's job performance, another bad-news record for the president, reports The Hill . Obama's approval ratings have run in the 40% range for much of this year, rising to 53% after Osama bin Laden was killed, notes the Los Angeles Times . The debt-ceiling quagmire sent the numbers back down. The president is hoping to begin to turn the tide this week with a three-day bus tour of the Midwest. More»

GOP scores lower, but Obama's numbers plummeting

(NEWSER) - When it comes to the economy, the public is getting increasingly fed up with pretty much everyone in Washington. Roughly equal numbers blame President Obama and the Republicans for the state of the economy, according to a new Washington Post poll. And though Obama scores slightly higher than Republicans when it comes to jobs—65% disapprove of the GOP’s handling of employment, compared to 52% for Obama—his overall numbers are swiftly plummeting. More»

Israel speech shows little effect on support: Gallup poll

(NEWSER) - A clear majority of Jewish Americans—some 60%—still support President Obama, Gallup finds. That figure is 14 points higher than his overall 46% approval rating, a gap that matches the average since the president entered office. US Jews’ approval of Obama’s performance is statistically unchanged from April’s 64%, and aggregated daily polls reveal no major change in Jewish Americans’ opinions of Obama following his May 19 speech on Israel , which drew harsh criticism from some leading Israel supporters. (A Politico piece from a week ago isn't so sure he's OK with Jewish voters.) More»