A new opinion poll has indicated that the American people were not satisfied with US President Barack Obama, Congress, both major parties and all three branches of the government in 2013.
The broad survey conducted by HuffPost Pollster found that over 54 percent of respondents said they disapproved of President Obamaâ„¢s job in the White House, while 41 percent approved.
The problem-plagued Obamacare rollout, controversial revelations of NSA surveillance and stalled efforts on gun control and immigration were among a range of issues which confounded the US president in 2013.
Obamaâ„¢s approval ratings on various issues also declined, on the economy and healthcare by about six points and on foreign policy by about eight points. His favorability rating is down to about 44 percent.
In his year-end news conference, Obama said that 2013 was not the worst year of his presidency when asked by a reporter.
“If you’re measuring this by polls, my polls have gone up and down a lot through the course of my career,” Obama said. “If I was interested in polling, I wouldn’t have run for president.”
According to the poll, Congress hit record low approval ratings in 2013. After starting the year with a dismal 13 percent approval rating, Congressâ„¢ approval rating briefly plunged into the single digits during the government shutdown, before recovering to 11 percent.
Meanwhile, the approval rating of the Supreme Court is also polling at a near-record low.
The survey also showed that 27 percent of Americans view the Republican Party favorably, while 64 percent hold negative views of the party.
The Democratic Party is not in a good position as fewer than 40 percent now view the party favorably, while 52 percent view it unfavorably.
The unfavorable rating of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) rose nearly 16 points in 2013, while his favorability remained largely flat.
Less than 26 percent of Americans now think the United States is on the right track, down nearly 10 points from the beginning of the year. Dissatisfaction with the state of the nation rose nearly 9 points in 2013.
AGB/HJ
Source: Press TV