Washington (CNN) – President Barack Obama's approval rating is down to 45 percent, driven in part by growing dissatisfaction on the left with the president's track record in office, according to a new national survey.
A CNN/ORC International Poll also indicates that the Republican "brand" is taking a beating in the minds of Americans.
The survey's Friday release comes as the Obama administration and top congressional officials continue talks on a potential deal tying roughly $3 trillion in new savings over the next decade to an increase in the nation's debt ceiling. If Congress and the President fail to raise the country's $14.3 trillion limit by August 2, Americans could face rising interest rates, a declining dollar and increasingly jittery financial markets, among other problems.

the real problem is, if accurate (always a caveat) that when s pollys base drops to that level, he he/she has a difficult time with re-election