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Obama Slips in New Polls

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 29, 2009 6:40 PM CDT

(Newser) – Two big polls are out with the same general conclusion: President Obama is losing support for his health care overhaul among the public, and his approval rating is settling in to mere mortal levels. A Wall Street Journal/NBC survey puts his approval rating at 53%, down 3 points in a month and 8 points from April. That's comparable to George W. Bush shortly after his contentious 2000 victory. A New York Times/CBS poll has him at 58%, unchanged from earlier this month but down 10 points from April.

As for health reform, the WSJ poll notes that 42% now think Obama's plan is a bad idea, vs. 36% who think it's a good idea. Numbers were evenly split in mid-June. More troublesome for Obama is that people who already have insurance are getting negative, with the number of those naysayers rising 10 points to 47%. The NYT poll finds that Americans are generally growing more concerned about how any changes would affect them personally as critics ramp up attacks against the cost of reform and portray it as a government takeover.

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President Obama arrives at a town hall meeting on health care in a Kroger supermarket in Bristol, Va., Wednesday, July 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

President Obama speaks during a town hall meeting on health care in a Kroger grocery store produce section in Bristol, Va., Wednesday, July 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

President Obama responds to a question during a town hall meeting on health care in a Kroger supermarket in Bristol, Va., Wednesday, July 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

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This is a president who needs a vacation. His job rating is … certainly an acceptable mark. But if you look at it over time, it has (gone) south without a doubt. - Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart

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