Obama's Approval Ratings Near All-Time Lows

Facing a series of scandals involving everything from the IRS to the NSA – in addition to the growing unpopularity of his signature healthcare law -- President Barack Obama's job approval ratings are at near record lows, sinking to levels last seen more than a year and a half ago.

Gallup's daily tracking survey on Saturday showed the president at 41 percent approval, a 7-point drop from just a day earlier. His disapproval rating was at 50 percent on Saturday. His approval rating rose 1 percent on Sunday to 42 percent.

Real Clear Politics' average of recent polls put Obama's approval at 43.6 percent and his disapproval at 51.1.

Editor’s Note: New 'Obamacare Survival Guide' Reveals Dangers Ahead for Your Healthcare

On the economy, the numbers get worse. RCP's average of polls shows 42.2 percent approve of Obama's job performance while 53 percent disapprove. On foreign policy, the president garnered 44 percent approval, 47.6 percent disapproval.

The president had an RCP-averaged approval rating of 54 percent as recently as December, but it has slipped steadily since then with a temporary bump in late April. His highest ever approval in the RCP was 65.5 less than a month after his inauguration.

Gallup's lowest approval rating for Obama was in late December 2011. At that time his approval rating was 38 percent.

The impending implementation of Obamacare and a slew of scandals that the president has recently began calling "phony" may be behind his recent slide in the polls.

On Sunday, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said members of Obama's own party are distancing themselves from his healthcare law as they head into 2014.

"If this was such a great idea, then all of these senators who are vulnerable in 2014 would have voted for it, and they didn't," Priebus said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

The media have focused on Republican divisions over tactics, but the GOP has "total unanimity" on getting rid of Obamacare, Priebus said. It's the Democrats, he said, who are fighting each other over whether to keep Obamacare in place.

Some Republicans from the tea party wing are calling for defunding Obamacare in the 2014 fiscal year budget. Most party leaders say that will force a government shutdown, and the public will blame Republicans.

But Priebus noted that 30 Democrats voted against Obamcare. The true division is on Democratic side, he argued. He said it was "very obvious" the delay in the employer mandate is about getting Democrats elected.

A Fox News Poll conducted Aug. 3-5 on Obamacare saw 31 percent of respondents say “it’s going fine,” while 57-percent said, “it’s a joke.”

Obama also doesn't fare any better when it comes to the debate over the recent intelligence leaks by NSA turncoat Edward Snowden.

When Fox News pollsters asked about the Justice Department looking at reporters' records, for instance, 59 percent considered it a “serious situation.” The same percentage considered the IRS targeting of conservative groups to be "serious."

Sixty-nine percent thought the NSA surveillance of Americans was not a "phony scandal," while 78 percent didn't think investigations into the changes in talking points on the Benghazi attack were phony.

On Sunday, Republican Rep. Peter King of New York criticized Obama for showing little leadership in the debate the surveillance program. The  opponents of the program have gotten their message out through the media, King said.

"Basically Obama's been silent for the past two months," said King. "He allowed the Edward Snowdens and others in the world to dominate the media."

King, appearing on CBS' "Face the Nation," said that Obama had an obligation as commander in chief to "aggressively and effectively defend his program and he really didn't do it."

Finally, despite Obama's attempt to shift talk to the economy with a series of speeches in recent days, a Fox News poll found that 71 percent of voters say he isn't saying anything new and would prefer to see him stay in Washington to work things out with Republicans.

A Pew Research Center poll in mid-July found confidence in an improved economy is lagging. Four in 10 said it will take a long time for the economy to get back on its feet.

Editor’s Note: New 'Obamacare Survival Guide' Reveals Dangers Ahead for Your Healthcare