Poll: Most think Obama underperforming

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- A sizable number of respondents said they believe President Barack Obama has underperformed as president, an Angus Reid Public Opinion Poll indicated.

Results of the online survey released Tuesday also indicated more than seven in 10 respondents disapprove of the way the U.S. Congress is doing its job.

Forty-three percent of respondents said they approve of the way Obama is handling his duties, while 50 percent said they disapprove.

Looking ahead, 34 percent of respondents said they believe Obama deserves to be re-elected in the 2012 presidential election, while 45 percent said they don't think Obama deserves a second term, the public opinion survey said.

Since January, the percentage of respondents who said they believe Obama has performed worse than they expected jumped by 8 percentage points, from 36 percent to 44 percent. Forty percent of respondents said they think Obama performed as they expected, and 9 percent said they thought he did better than they thought.

The approval rating for the U.S. Congress was 20 percent, Angus Reid said, while 71 percent of respondents said they disapprove.

Results are based on an online survey of 1,011 adults conducted Oct. 20-21. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.