Polls: Obama Approval Plunges in Liberal California, Nationally

Two new polls show that President Barack Obama's job approval ratings have plummeted nationally and in California.

In the country as a whole, Obama's job approval rating sank to 41 percent last week from 50 percent in April, according to a McClatchy-Marist College poll. That represents Obama's low watermark since registering 39 percent in September 2011.

His disapproval rating stood at 48 percent, up from 46 percent in April. The poll surveyed 980 registered voters July 15-18.

"Clearly six months into his second term there’s been falloff across the board. It's not like one group bailed on him," Lee Miringoff, director of Marist's Institute for Public Opinion, told McClatchy.

Among independent voters, for example, Obama's approval rating dropped to 30 percent from 47 percent in April. And his disapproval rating among independents rose to 59 percent, also from 47 percent.

Obama's standing is even suffering in the heavily Democratic state of California, according to a Field Poll survey. His job approval rating in the state slid to 52 percent there from 62 percent in February. His disapproval rating rose to 35 percent from 33 percent.

The poll was conducted June 26 to July 21 among 846 registered voters in the state.