WASHINGTON, March 18 (UPI) -- A poll released Monday indicates less than half of all Americans think President Obama has done a good job lately and even fewer are enamored of Republicans.
The CNN/ORC International poll found Obama's job approval rating has dipped to 47 percent, an 8-point drop this year and the first time it's been below 50 percent since September. Fifty-four percent have an unfavorable view of Republicans, the poll indicated.
"The Democrats are not overwhelmingly popular -- 46 percent of Americans have a favorable view of the Democrats, compared to 48 percent with an unfavorable view -- but in a two-party system, you only need to be more popular than your opponent to have an advantage," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said.
"Unfavorable views of the GOP extend into nearly every other major demographic. The Republican Party's unfavorable rating is over 50 percent among men, women, the young, the old, the rich, the poor, and just about every region of the country besides the South, where the GOP can manage no better than a 45 percent-45 percent tie on the question."
Fifty-six percent said Obama is not doing enough to work with congressional Republicans, while 70 percent see Republicans as being not cooperative enough.
When it comes to budget and fiscal policy, Obama got a 31 percent approval rating to just 19 percent for Republicans in Congress.
The poll also revealed about two-thirds of those surveyed believe the Republican Party favors the rich and its policies are too extreme.
While those polled say Obama has the personal qualities a president needs, they appear to disagree with his stands on the issues, Holland said.
"Fewer than a third approve of how the president is handling the government's budget and fiscal policies, and the White House's 'charm offensive' has not registered with the American public," he said.
The poll of 1,021 adults was conducted Friday through Sunday and has a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
