An NBC/Wall Street Journal survey found that the stop-start approach to Syria, the scandal over US mass surveillance and the botched launch of Obamacare had shaken Americans' faith in their president.
While the poll also found record levels of hostility towards the Republican Party, the White House will be concerned that both Mr Obama's job approval and Americans' view of him personally are falling.
Around 51 per cent disapproved of the job he was doing in the Oval Office compared to 42 per cent who approved, a nine-point negative spread.
His ratings were also hit by the roll out of his signature healthcare law, which his own health secretary admitted this week had been a "debacle". The poll found 47 per cent thought the reforms were a bad idea, compared to 37 per cent who supported it.
Mr Obama's numbers are at their worst since September 2011, when he clocked a seven-point negative spread amid a stuttering economic recovery and the outbreak of Libya's civil war.
While Mr Obama will never again face re-election, the sagging numbers threaten his hopes for a productive second term and especially plans to reform America's broken immigration system. » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Thursday, October 31, 2013
