Rasmussen: 38% Strongly Disapprove of Obama

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll shows President Obama’s approval rating at 47 percent Thursday.

That’s down from 65 percent when Obama took office in January, though it’s a slight gain from 46 percent Wednesday.

More American’s strongly disapprove of Obama’s performance than strongly approve of it – by a margin of 38 percent to 29 percent.

That means Rasmussen’s Presidential Approval Index rating stands at -9 (29 minus 38). That compares to +28 in January and -10 Wednesday.

Rasmussen’s weekly poll shows that 33 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction. That number has stayed in a range of 31-35 percent since July. It stood at 27 percent in January.

As for Americans who think the country is headed in the wrong direction, that number totals 62 percent and has stayed in a range of 60-63 percent since July. It registered 63 percent in January.

Only 39 percent of poll respondents say Obama is doing well handling the economy, while 45 percent say he is doing poorly. The 39 percent figure is Obama’s second lowest of the year. He scored 38 percent for handling the economy well in late September.

On healthcare, 45 percent approve of Democratic reform plans, while 52 percent disapprove. Last week the supporters totaled 42 percent and the opponents 54 percent.

In Gallup’s three-day moving average poll, Obama registered an approval rating of 51 percent Wednesday, down from 53 percent Tuesday. The amount of Americans who disapprove of his job performance rose to 42 percent from 39 percent Tuesday.