For the first time since his inauguration, President Obama’s approval rating will be below 50%.  As reported on the Drudge Report, Rasmussen Reports will reveal the story tonight.  The president’s overall rating is that 49% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of his performance.  I don’t think Mr. Rahm Emanuel and the rest of the White House are going to be partying it up today.  They’re looking to stop the bleeding and change the tide.

A lot of the negative viewpoints most likely stem from the President’s comments on the actions of a Cambridge police man.  President Obama has stirred up the racism pot in this country by saying the officer “acted stupidly” in the arrest of his friend Henry Louis Gates Jr. while admittedly stating he did not know all the facts in the case.  Even liberal Massachussetts is upset with the President over attacking their own law officers.  Sgt. James Crowley is defending the fact that he did his job right.

The other major issue mounting is health care.  Obama seems obsessed with passing his legislation and quickly.  With 47 million without insurance, something needs to be done.  There are tons of folks who need this care.  They may be living with illnesses or have to use walk-in bathtubs to aid fall prevention.  However, the stir is how quickly the President seems to be trying to ram this legislation through.  With something as major as health care, you think you’d give the lawmakers time to read the 1,000 page document.  You’d even think the President would, but he hasn’t.  So, people wearing Cherokee scrubs everywhere are concerned, and they have a right to be.  This legislation impacts their jobs and livelihoods in a major way.

As time goes on, the approval rating keeps going lower.  Maybe this is just the curse of the US presidency right now.  Maybe, people are seeing Obama in a new light, and they aren’t as happy about him as when they voted for him.