Poll: Obama approval down after government shutdown

PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's approval rating has fallen 3 points since the federal government shutdown, to one of the lowest levels in two years, a poll found.

Gallup said Friday the president's approval rating was 41 percent in a poll of 1,-21 adults conducted Wednesday and Thursday, down from 44 percent in September. His disapproval rating rose to 52 percent -- his worst showing since 2011, The Hill reported.

Most Americans feel the current shutdown is even more serious than the one in 1995, Gallup also found.

Seventy percent said the shutdown was a "crisis" or "major problem," the survey found -- well over the 56 percent who said as much about the shutdown in 1995.

Twenty-one percent of those polled this week said they thought the closure was a crisis, 49 percent said it was a major problem.

More Democrats thought the situation was a serious issue -- with 81 percent calling it a crisis or major problem -- while 67 percent of Republicans and 64 percent of independents has similar feelings.

Sixty-one percent said the shutdown had caused them to view Republicans in a more negative light, while 58 percent said they now held more negative opinions about Democrats.

Gallup estimated the poll's margin of error at 4 percentage points.