WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's jobapproval ratings plunged to a new low ahead of his majoreconomic speech on Thursday, with widespread discontent amongAmericans over his handling of the economy and jobs, accordingto a spate of polls released on Tuesday.
An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll of 1,000 US adultsshowed Obama's overall job approval rating at a low of 44percent, down 3 percentage points since July, while hishandling of the economy stands at 37%.
A Democratic pollster who helped conduct the survey saidthe poor results, which contain a 3.1 percentage-point marginof error, suggest Obama is no longer favored to win re-electionin 2012.