Obama, Republicans battered in new US poll

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Obama, Republicans battered in new US poll

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A new poll Tuesday found Americans frustrated with both Obama and his Republican rivals.

06 September,2011 09:42 pm

The Washington Post/ABC News poll, released just days ahead of Obama’s planned major address on job creation, found that 53 per cent disapprove of his job performance and 77 per cent think the country is on the “wrong track.”The poll found 35 per cent of Americans believe they have become worse off financially under Obama’s presidency, the highest since the 1980s.The poll found that 34 per cent of Americans believe his efforts have done more harm than good for the economy, compared to 17 per cent who believe the opposite, reflecting the main line of attack of Republicans hoping to take back the White House in next year’s elections.However, the poll also found anger at Republicans, with 68 per cent of those surveyed disapproving of the job performance of Republican lawmakers, 15 points higher than Obama’s disapproval rating.And on whom Americans trust to handle the economy, job creation and the federal deficit, Obama and the Republicans poll about evenly, at around 40 per cent for all three.Obama was to deliver a major address on Thursday before a joint session of Congress to announce a new plan to get the economy back on track and try to chip away at the country’s stubborn nine percent unemployment.In a rare bright spot for the president, 62 per cent of Americans approve of his battle against terrorism, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and four months after the killing of Osama bin Laden.The poll was conducted by telephone August 29 to September 1 among a random sampling of 1,001 adults, and had a margin of error of 3.5 points.