WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama's
approval ratings have dipped to their lowest level since January
on deep economic worries, wiping out most of his lead in the
White House race over Republican rival Mitt Romney, a
Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Tuesday.
The percentage of Americans who approve of Obama's job
performance dropped from 50 a month ago to 47, his lowest level
since early January. The number who think the country is on the
wrong track rose 6 percentage points in a month to 63 percent.
The doubts about Obama's leadership helped Romney pull to
within 1 point of the Democratic president in the White House
race - 45 percent to 44 percent - among registered voters with
less than five months to go before the Nov. 6 election. Obama
led by 7 points a month ago.
The poll was mostly taken after Obama suffered several
recent campaign setbacks, including a weak jobs report in May
and an optimistic comment on the good health of the private
sector that critics say showed he was out of touch.