[quote]Barack Obama's honeymoon period appears to be coming to an end in America as polls have shown his ratings have fallen to their lowest point yet. A USA Today/Gallup survey suggested that six months into his presidency, his popularity was lower than George W Bush's at the same stage of his tenure. Amid rising unemployment and falling confidence in his economic plans, Mr Obama's job approval rating has dropped by nine points since January to 55 per cent, a point below his predecessor in mid-2001. Other polls by ABC News and the Washington Post also showed Mr Obama's job approval falling below 60 per cent for the first time since he was sworn in as the nation's first black president, with a marked drop in the last month. The president is facing criticism about how he is going to pay for $1 trillion plans to reform the US health care system. Half of respondents in one poll disapproved of his health care policy compared with just 44 per cent who approved. Mr Obama admitted there was work to do and said he would not sign any of the bills currently being considered in Congress. "Right now, they're not where they need to be," he told NBC. He has already admitted that his August deadline for draft legislation could "spill over" into the autumn. Mr Obama is due to hold a prime time televised press conference on Wednsday designed to restate his case to an increasingly sceptical nation. Whit Ayres, a pollster, said: "His ratings have certainly come back down to Earth in a very short time period." Mr Obama is said to be losing the most support among independent voters and moderate Democrats, whose votes were crucial in winning him swing states in November's election. In those states, where congressmen face re-election next year, Democrats are already concerned. Steve Glorioso, a Democratic strategist in Missouri, said devout Democrats were as enthusiastic as ever for Mr Obama but that the less committed were feeling disappointed. "People are scared," he said. "This is the worst economic time anyone under the age of 80 has ever experienced, and you can't discount people being afraid. "Now that we are in July, the fear is turning to disappointment that the president hasn't fixed everything yet. I don't know why they thought he could change everything by now, but some did." Although Mr Obama inherited immense economic troubles from Mr Bush, the economy is now seen as almost solely his responsibility. Experts say that White House reassurances about "the green shoots" of economic recovery are sounding hollow as unemployment has now risen to more than ten per cent in 15 states, Chris Redfern, the Ohio Democratic Party chairman, said: "When it's the president's economy, it's the president's trouble. Americans are eager for the change that they voted into office. They support him, they just want to see results sooner rather than later." Even Democrats have privately criticised the president for not taking firm control of health care reform. Congress is now working on three different bills but has been stuck on who to tax to pay for expanded coverage. Eager to avoid the mistake made by the Clintons in 1993, who handed a vast health care bill to congress with little consultation, Mr Obama has been accused of straying too far in the other direction. This week he has delivered a tough message on health care on a daily basis, reminding Congress that 47 million uninsured Americans cannot wait for reform. John McHenry, a Republican strategist, said: "At some point he needs to decide if he is taking ownership of this or contracting it all to the Democratic congress. "This autumn will tell if his honeymoon is well and truly over. He has been more popular personally than many of his proposals were, but there is only so long you can continue that." [/quote] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5880717/Barack-Obama-ratings-fall-as-polls-show-honeymoon-may-be-over.html