40 percent: President Obama‘s approval rating, according to a new Gallup Poll released Friday, which shows his approval at its lowest point since April, when it dipped to 41 percent. The president’s approval averaged 46 percent in June and stayed in that ballpark for most of July, but the current budget debacle in Washington has caused public approval to dip not only for the president, but for members of Congress. Only 31 percent approve of House Speaker John Boehner‘s handling of the debt negotiations, and just 23 percent approving of Sen. Harry Reid, according to a special USA Today/Gallup pollconducted July 27, which also showed that more Americans have an opinion about Obama’s performance than the other two. Among those with an opinion about his handling of the situation, the president has 44 percent approval, compared with 39 percent for Boehner and 31 percent for Reid. (In terms of party loyalty, only half of Republicans approve of Boehner’s handling of the debt crisis, compared with 75 percent of Democrats who approve of Obama’s handling. But still, Reid does worst with his own party, receiving just 36 percent approval among Democrats.)
