America’s patience with brinksmanship over the government shutdown and debt limit has pushed its view of Congress and President Barack Obama to new lows.
According to a Wednsday survey conducted by NBC and the Wall Street Journal, just 42 percent of Americans approve of the president’s performance, while 51 percent disapprove, a statistic that is tied for an all-time high in the poll. Also for the first time in the poll, more people view Obama more negatively than they do favorably, 41 percent to 45 percent, respectively.
The Republican Party isn’t spared from the public’s wrath, either, especially after forcing the first federal government shutdown in 17 years. Only 22 percent of those surveyed view the the GOP favorably, while 53 percent view it unfavorably, according to the poll.
Looking to the 2014 Congressional mid-term election, just 29 percent of those surveyed said their member of Congress deserves reelection, the lowest level since 1992.
The poll was conducted Oct. 25-28 and surveyed 800 adults (including 240 cell phone-only respondents), with a margin of error of plus-minus 3.5 percentage points.
