Poll: Obama's approval among whites slips

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 24 (UPI) -- President Obama's approval among white Americans has fallen to 39 percent since taking office in January, Gallup Daily poll results indicated.

Overall, Obama's approval rating slipped below 50 percent for the first time in his presidency, a 16 percentage point drop since the 66 percent average he enjoyed during his first full week in office, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said of its results released Tuesday.

Support among blacks for Obama averaged 93 percent during his time in office, and has been at or above 90 percent since he was sworn in, accounting for the reason Obama's support among non-white respondents didn't drop as much, Gallup said.

Support for Obama among non-whites dropped a total of 7 percentage points -- down 5 percentage points among Hispanics, along with declines among Asians, Native Americans and those of mixed race, Gallup results indicated.

Among political parties, Republicans' approval rating fell 24 points from the time Obama took office until the latest polling. Independents' approval of Obama was down 18 points, while support among Democrats dipped 6 points.

Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews with 3,611 adults conducted Nov. 16-22 as part of Gallup Daily tracking. The total sample has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.