Iowa Poll shows Obama approval rating below 50 percent

Fewer than half of Iowans approve of President Barack Obama’s performance in office a year after he carried the state in the 2008 election, according to The Des Moines Register’s Iowa Poll.
Obama’s overall job approval slipped to 49 percent from 53percent in September. Iowans’ approval is down 19 percentage points since an Iowa Poll in January, about the time he was inaugurated.
A majority of Iowans now say the Democrat’s performance in key economic areas is inadequate, including health care, his top domestic priority. Their satisfaction with Obama’s conduct of wars abroad has dropped most sharply, as he weighs sending more troops to Afghanistan, the war he promised during the campaign to make a priority. Still, most support his handling of relations with other countries, another top campaign theme.

The new numbers — which track closely with the president’s national approval ratings — are signs he faces daunting economic and international problems similar to presidents before him.
But they are also a warning to Obama that Iowans’ expectations remain high and that his national mandate is waning, national pollsters said. (source)