Politics / President Obama In a First, More Americans Disapprove of Obama Gulf spill pulls down his ratings By John Johnson, Newser Staff Posted Jun 23, 2010 6:10 PM CDT Copied President Obama pauses in the Rose Garden today. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Rough news for President Obama (and others) in a new poll from the Wall Street Journal and NBC. Highlights: In a first, more people disapprove of Obama's job performance (48%) than approve of it (45%). Half disapprove of his handling of the oil spill, vs. 42% who approve. 62% say the country is on the wrong track, the highest level since his election. One bright spot: 64% say he's likeable. (“On the personal level, the public still stays with him," says a Democratic pollster.) BP gets a favorable rating of 6%. Only Saddam Hussein, Fidel Castro, and Yasser Arafat have scored lower in the poll's history. Only one-third think the US economy will improve in a year, down 7 points from just last month. 57% want a new representative in Congress, the highest percentage in 18 years. Full results in PDF form here. (More President Obama stories.) Report an error