Obama unfavorable rating hits new high

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's unfavorable rating is 49 percent, the highest level of his presidency, an ABC News/Washington Post poll indicates.

The poll released Wednesday found that for the first time more Americans view the president unfavorably than favorably.

Forty-nine percent of those polled Dec. 7-11 expressed an unfavorable opinion of Obama compared with 48 percent who expressed a favorable view.

Obama's favorable rating has plummeted 31 points from a career high of 79 percent recorded just days before he took office.

Despite the drop, pollsters found the president is still more popular than current GOP front-runner Newt Gingrich.

The former speaker of the House of Representatives drew a similar unfavorable rating as Obama -- 48 percent -- but his favorable rating was a full 13 points lower than the president at 35 percent.

As for the economy, 74 percent of those questioned said they are unhappy with the direction it is headed.

The telephone poll was conducted for ABC News by Langer Research Associates among a random national sample of 1,012 adults. It carried a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.