Obama Effigy Spotted in Jimmy Carter's Hometown

President Obama's Approval Rating Plummets to 50 Per Cent for First Time
TIMES ONLINE: President Obama’s approval rating fell to just 50 per cent for the first time today as a growing number of Democratic congressmen across the country contend with angry mobs decrying his economic policies.

The screaming groups, who have hung effigies of Democratic politicians on nooses and even issued death threats, are accused of being orchestrated mobs paid for by conservative groups.

Yet they have captured the spotlight and point to the raging national debate over Mr Obama’s increasingly desperate push to reform health care, the centerpiece of his domestic agenda. The clashes also come amid deep concerns about the exploding budget deficit, a ballooning debt which is threatening the president’s entire economic policies.

After a month in which his poll ratings suffered a significant slide, a new Quinnipiac survey had his approval rating down to just 50 per cent. As in other recent polls, and more ominously for Mr Obama, a majority of Americans now disapprove of his handling of the economy and the issue of health care. >>> Tim Reid, Washington | Thursday, August 06, 2009