U.S. President Barack Obama's popularity is plummeting, according to the USA Today /Gallup poll, published Wednesday by the newspaper. The survey found that Americans appear to be fed up with legislative leaders as well. Half of those surveyed said Obama does not deserve to be re-elected. The telephone survey of 1,033 adult Americans last Friday through Sunday found that for the first time since he was elected president, Obama failed to win a majority willing to say he shares their values and can manage the government effectively. The country was nearly evenly split over the president's job performance, with 50 percent of respondents approving and 43 percent giving Obama the “thumbs down." Half of the respondents said the president should take at least a moderate amount of the blame for the economic problems they face – nearly double last summer's response. However, Obama maintained a lead over other Democratic leaders in the U.S. government: 52 percent still had a favorable opinion of the president, as opposed to 36 percent for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and even fewer with a positive opinion of Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid – 29 percent. Nor did the Republican leaders fare much better. Only 29 percent of those polled had a favorable opinion of House Republican Leader John Boehner, while Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell did a little better, garnering a 31 percent approval rating.
