Poll: Obama's job rating falls 15 points

WASHINGTON, July 9 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's job approval rating among Americans has plummeted, a survey released Thursday found.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey showed the president's approval rating had fallen from 76 percent in February to 61 percent in late June.

The poll also indicated those who say they consider Obama "a strong and decisive leader" fell 10 percentage points, to 70 percent in the five-month span, while those who say they see Obama as tough enough to handle a crisis declined 9 percentage points, to 64 percent.

Fifty-six percent said they think Obama generally agrees with them on issues they care about, down from 63 percent in February, and 53 percent say he has a "clear plan" for solving the nation's problems, down from 64 percent, the poll found.

The poll said 58 percent expressed approval for Obama and his job performance, while 19 percent say they like him personally but don't like his job performance.

"Obama's stand on the issues and his plans for the future appear to be his biggest weakness," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said.

Half of those questioned say the Democratic Party's control of the U.S. Congress is good for the country. Forty-one percent say it's a bad thing.

The telephone poll of 1,026 adult Americans, conducted June 26-28, has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.