Obama approval rating falls below 50 percent

US President Barack Obama has now dropped, for the first time, below 50 percent approval a Gallup poll has suggested, Press TV reported.

Gallup analysts say that the president's slipping job approval score was largely due to deep division in the country about his healthcare reform plan and mounting unemployment that has risen to double-digit levels nationally and between nearly 11 percent and 15 percent in at least a dozen states.

However, independent analysts predicted the number will have little impact on the president's congressional agenda unless it moves substantially below 50 percent.

This new Gallup poll put Obama on par with Ronald Reagan, who also fell below 50 percent 10 months into the job - and better than Bill Clinton, who fell below in his fourth month. Reagan was dealing with similar economic problems.