Poll: Obama approval drops seven points on sequester worries

President Obama's approval rating has dipped to 43 percent — a seven-point drop since Feb. 19 — as the nation responds angrily to Washington's inability to strike a deal to avert the sequester, according to a new poll from Reuters and Ipsos.

The survey also found that a plurality of Americans — 38 percent — believe that the president and Congress both share responsibility for the gridlock that resulted in $85 billion in across-the-board cuts. By contrast, 27 percent exclusively blame congressional Republicans, while 6 percent thought Democrats were to blame. Seventeen percent blame just President Obama.

"People are seeing things are back to business as usual in Washington," said Ipsos pollster Julia Clark. "They are reading about the immense fallout this is going to have in terms of how it's going to affect the military and individuals.

The Reuters poll is the second consecutive national survey to show a dramatic fall for the president's approval rating. On Tuesday, Gallup showed the president's approval rating in its tracking poll had fallen to 46 percent, the lowest point of his second term. That was down from 53 percent just a week earlier.

On Tuesday, White House press secretary Jay Carney dismissed the sagging numbers, pointing to the sometimes breathless coverage of daily tracking polls during the 2012 presidential campaign.

"Before we say anything is clear based on one poll, could we just remember, just think back a few months to the summer and fall of 2012, and understand that we're here focused on the president's agenda, getting the work done that we think is most beneficial to the middle class," Carney said.

Reuters and Ipsos interviewed 1,797 adults for its survey between March 1-5.

---