Obama faulted on handling of health care, economy

Even as the Senate sleepwalks toward handing him a major victory on health care, President Obama isn't inspiring confidence among voters on his handling of the issue, or of the economy for that matter, according to a new poll.

The Quinnipiac University survey released today found that 56 percent disapprove of Obama's performance on health care and 53 percent oppose the bill, which the Democratic-controlled Senate moved forward with another procedural vote this morning.

"As President Barack Obama's numbers on health care have declined so has his margin over Republicans on whom American voters trust most on the issue," Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a statement. "In July he enjoyed a 20-point edge on the trust question, and that margin has been narrowing, to 45 - 40 percent today."

The poll also found that 51 percent of respondents don't like how the president is handling the economy and 56 percent disapprove of how he is trying to create jobs. More than nine in 10 voters rate the economy as either "not so good" or poor.

The poll was conducted Dec. 15-20 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.