At 5 Years, US Thinks Obama's a Great Guy, Meh Prez

Americans like Barack Obama—they're just not totally sold on President Obama. In a new AP-GfK poll, less than a third of respondents said Obama had been an above-average president, even though 58% found him likeable. "He would probably be a guy I would like to hang out with if he wasn't president," says one independent. "But I like a lot of people who are not qualified to be president." The finding dovetails with a Quinnipiac poll out yesterday that found that just 42% of Americans said that the Obama administration "has been competent in running the government," a detail highlighted by Politico.

Obama's numbers are falling mainly among Democrats, and liberals in particular, the AP poll found. "People are getting disheartened," said one Democratic respondent. "He needs to show more leadership." The poll also found that less than half of Americans considered Obama decisive or honest, and that voters were generally pessimistic about the direction of the country. That latter fact might be why a Gallup poll yesterday found that a record 65% are dissatisfied with "our system of government and how well it works." (More Barack Obama stories.)