Look Out Below!

The other day Gallup had the rookie president's approval rating at 63%, down from 69% at the beginning of his term. Today Rasmussen has his numbers at 59%:

The partisan debate over an economic stimulus package has pushed President Barack Obama’s Job Approval Ratings down over the past week. While the President continues to enjoy generally positive ratings, new survey data shows that the country is evenly divided over his assertion that failure to act on the stimulus package will lead to an economic catastrophe. See our weekly review of key polls to learn “What They Told Us.”

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval Index for Sunday shows that 36% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing as President. Twenty-five percent (25%) Strongly Disapprove to give Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of +11.

The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve. It is updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update).

One week ago today, 44% Strongly Approved and 23% Strongly Disapproved to give Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of +21.

In the first set of interviews conducted after inauguration day, 45% Strongly Approved of his performance while 16% Strongly Disapproved for a Presidential Approval Index rating of +29 (see trends).

Overall, 59% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President’s performance so far while 39% disapprove. Today’s results mark the first time that Obama’s overall rating has fallen below 60% as either President-elect or President. For more data, see Obama By the Numbers and review recent demographic highlights.

Looks like my 55% prediction for April 15th will get here early.