Poll: Health Care Debacle Costs Obama Dearly

Washington (AFP) – President Barack Obama’s approval rating has fallen sharply because of the botched launch of his signature health care plan, says a poll out Tuesday.

His overall approval rating stands at 42 percent, dropping six points in a month in the Washington Post–ABC News poll, his lowest rating yet.

Opposition to the new health care law also reached a record high: 57 percent said they are now against what is supposed to be Obama’s biggest domestic policy achievement.

And 46 percent say they are strongly against it, whereas a month ago, as the enrollment period began Americans were about evenly divided over the law.

Obama’s handling of the health care law’s rollout has a disapproval rating of 63 percent. Last month, 53 percent disapproved.

These are the first polling numbers since Obama apologized last week and acknowledged errors in how the legislation was implemented.

Due to nagging problems with the federal Web site designed to allow people to sign up for insurance, seven in 10 Americans say the administration should delay what is known as the individual mandate.

This is a clause in the law that obliges all individuals to get health insurance or pay a fine.

The poll was carried out November 14-17 among a random national sample of 1,006 adults. The margin of error was 3.5 percentage points.