Obama rating down in CaliforniaSeptember 14, 2011 - 15:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Concern about the economy has pushed President Barack Obama's approval rating below 50 percent in California, a state assumed to be an easy win for him in next year's presidential election. Obama carried California in the 2008 election but Field Poll findings released on Wednesday show he is having trouble in the most populous U.S. state, where most disapprove of his handling of the economy and just 46 percent of registered voters now support his performance as president. It is the first time since Obama took office that his approval rating has slipped below 50 percent in the poll, which showed an 8 percentage point decline since June. The percentage of California voters disinclined to re-elect Obama was 44 percent - compared with 40 percent in June and March - while 49 percent are inclined to vote for him next year, unchanged from June and March. "Most would consider this a reliably blue (Democratic) state and if he's having problems here it's fairly ominous for his standing in the rest of the nation," said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll. The poll showed 54 percent of California voters disapprove of how Obama is handling the economy, compared with 40 percent who approve and 6 percent with no opinion. The findings are based on a telephone survey conducted from September 1 to 12 of 1,001 registered voters. The estimated maximum sampling error for the survey's results is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level, Reuters reported. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. |