Poll: Pump Prices Hurting Obama

Politico reports:

As gas prices have soared, President Barack Obama’s approval ratings have tanked, especially among Americans who say they are heavily burdened by high prices, according to polling released late Monday.

Of those surveyed for a Washington Post/ABC News poll who said rising gas prices are a “serious financial hardship,” 39 percent approve of Obama’s job performance. Just 33 percent in that group say he’s doing a good job handling the economy.

Last week, Obama told supporters at a Hollywood fundraiser that his “poll numbers go up and down depending on the latest crisis, and right now gas prices are weighing heavily on people.” The average nationwide gas price was $3.88 a gallon last week, up 81 cents since January, the Energy Information Administration said. Prices haven’t been this high since August 2008.

The numbers back up Obama’s conclusion. His overall approval rating in the Post/ABC poll was 47 percent – the lowest it’s been since September – pulled upward by Americans who say they feel little to any financial strain over gas prices. Among independents who say higher prices are a serious hardship, for instance, 28 percent approve of Obama’s job performance, while 52 percent of those who are not burdened by the prices approve of his performance.

Obama has been struggling to convey to Americans that he feels their pain at the pump and is trying to help. “These gas prices are killing you right now,” he said last week at a town hall at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif.