Poll: Obama's gulf work gets thumbs down

PRINCETON, N.J., June 8 (UPI) -- More Americans disapprove of President Obama's handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill than of his overall job performance, a Gallup Poll indicated Tuesday.

Results indicated Obama's rating for the oil spill was 40 percent, 7 percentage points lower than his overall job approval rating. More Americans disapprove than approve of his handling of the oil spill that began April 20 when an oil rig exploded, killing 11 workers, and sank two days later.

In an earlier poll, Gallup said 53 percent of Americans called Obama's efforts in responding to the spill "very poor" or "poor," while 73 percent expressed the same sentiments about BP.

The 47 percent approval rating in the latest Gallup Daily tracking matched the Gallup Daily weekly aggregate for May 31-June 6, the second-lowest average of his administration.

Oil spill results are based on national telephone interviews of 1,035 adults conducted June 5-6 on the Gallup Daily tracking survey. Overall approval results are based on national telephone interviews of 1,535 adults conducted June 4-6 on the Gallup Daily tracking survey. Both polls have a margin of error of 4 percentage points.