Approval Rating Hits All-Time Low for Obama

President Obama’s poll numbers are in the doghouse again. Just 42% of the public approves of the job Obama’s doing, compared to 48% who disapprove, an all-time low for the president, according to a new Quinnipiac poll. Meanwhile, a Gallup poll found that Americans were less likely than ever to consider Obama a strong leader, with only half agreeing to that statement—down from 73% in 2009.

The situation in Libya may have played some role in the declines. In Quinnipiac’s poll, which was conducted before Obama’s speech on Monday, respondents disapproved of America’s involvement 47%-41%, and by a 58%-29% margin said that Obama hadn’t explained the US goals there clearly enough. Yet 53% said they approved of using cruise missiles to destroy Moammar Gadhafi’s air defenses, and 65% said they approved of using military force to protect Libya’s civilians. (More Barack Obama stories.)