President Obama’s approval rating had fallen to 46% for the Friday-through-Sunday tracking period, which is down from 53% a week earlier, Politico reported. The drop comes after President Obama and Congress failed to reach a deal to prevent the automatic spending cuts, which went into effect this past Friday.
On Tuesday, Gallup found that the three-day average had bounced back up to 49%, but his approval rating is still down from before the sequester hit. “While Obama may have recovered from a short-term decline in his public support, his approval rating will likely remain in a precarious state until he and Congress can reach accord on federal spending and the budget deficit,” Gallup reported.
In addition to President Obama’s approval rating taking a hit, Americans' confidence in the economy has fallen: 56% of those surveyed by Gallup believe that the nation’s economy will suffer this year if the sequester goes into effect and 44% say sequestration will harm their finances. However, similar polls showed that Americans were losing faith in the economy during the fiscal cliff negtiations and once that debate came to an end, the economy did rebound quickly. If Washington can resolve the sequester, Americans may gain confidence in the economy once again. And for what it's worth, the stock market hit a record high on Tuesday.