Approval for Congress and the GOP hit all-time lows this week as the government shut down after lawmakers could not agree on a budget. 
 
 A mere 10% of Americans–the smallest approval rating for Congress in history–said they approve of Congress’ accomplishments, according to a new CNN/ORC International poll released Monday. Disapproval of federal lawmakers reached 87%. 
 
 Just 17% of the country–the lowest approval rating in Quinnipiac University’s polling–approved of the way GOP lawmakers are dealing with current issues, and 74% disapproved, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday. That has ticked down two points from the August Quinnipiac results. 
 
 Democrats didn’t avoid disappointment from people, either, but their approval rating stood at 32%, up one point from the August poll. 
 
 The government closed after midnight for the first time in 17 years after Congress failed to pass a bill Monday that would have provided a federal budget. The public could begin signing up Tuesday for Obamacare, which was at the heart of the debate that led to the shutdown. 
 
 Almost half–47%–of Americans were more likely to say the debate about the budget is based from both parties on gaining political advantage rather than on following principle and the future of the government. according to a new Gallup poll. When the government last closed in Nov. 1995, a similar 52% said the debate was political. 
 
 Earlier this year in June Americans ranked 16 other institutions–including banks, television news, police, and churches–higher than their level of confidence in Congress, which also dropped to 10% then. The rating was the lowest level not only for Congress, but for any institution on record–-ever. 
 
 The country is almost split down the middle in its regard for President Obama’s handling of his job: 51% agreed that he has the leadership and personality expected of a president, whereas 48% disagreed with the statement. His approval ratings were the highest in April 2009 with 75% of Americans having confidence in his role. ||||| Two months of oil continuing to gush from a well off the Gulf Coast, as well as an unemployment rate still near 10 percent, have taken a toll on President Barack Obama and his standing with the American public, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. 
 
 For the first time in the survey, more disapprove of his job performance than approve; for the first time in his presidency, more than 60 percent believe the country is on the wrong track; and as he relieves Gen. Stanley McChrystal of his command in Afghanistan, Obama’s scores on being able to handle a crisis and on being decisive have plummeted since last year. 
 
 This is a president who has been bruised and bloodied by the events of the past few months, although not yet knocked down, say the Democratic and Republican pollsters who conducted the survey. 
 
 “There is just no way that an American president is not going to see his job rating affected” after these events, observed GOP pollster Bill McInturff. “The little faint signs [of improvement] we were seeing in April and May have been squished by two months of this story in the Gulf.” 
 
 Added Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart: “These numbers aren’t good. But they are far from awful.” 
 
 Obama’s declining numbers 
 
 In the poll, Obama’s job-approval rating stands at 45 percent, which is down five points from early last month and down three points from late May. 
 
 Forty-eight percent in the current survey say they disapprove of his job performance. 
 
 What’s more, Obama’s favorable/unfavorable rating is now at 47 percent to 40 percent, down from 49 percent to 38 percent in early May and 52 percent to 35 percent in January. 
 
 His scores on other ascpects of the presidency also have declined. In April 2009, 54 percent gave the president high marks for being able to handle a crisis; now it’s 40 percent. 
 
 In July 2009, 57 percent gave him high marks for being decisive and for his decision-making; now it’s 44 percent. 
 
 And also in July 2009, 61 percent gave him high marks for having strong leadership qualities; now it’s 49 percent. 
 
 A silver lining for Obama is that his personal scores are still strong: 64 percent give him high marks for being easygoing and likeable, and 51 percent give him high marks for being compassionate enough to understand average people. 
 
 Yet those percentages, too, are down from last year. 
 
 “On the personal level,” says Hart, the Democratic pollster, “the public still stays with him.” 
 
 Gulf spill takes it toll on Obama — and especially BP 
 
 There is no doubt that the two-month Gulf spill has played a significant role in the president’s declining poll numbers. 
 
 In the survey — which was conducted after Obama’s fourth visit to the Gulf last week, after his Oval Office address on the spill, and after getting BP to agree to a $20 billion escrow account to help pay for relief — 50 percent say they disapprove of Obama’s handling of the spill, while 42 percent approve. 
 
 But the public gives him better ratings than it does Congress, the federal government, and BP. 
 
 A combined 48 percent believe that Obama has done more or as much as expected in dealing with spill. By comparison, 39 percent say the same of Congress, 36 percent say that of the federal government (including the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency), and just 27 percent say that of BP. 
 
 Video: Did BP understate size of spill? Indeed, the poll shows that only 6 percent have a favorable rating of BP. In the history of the NBC News/Journal poll, Saddam Hussein (3 percent), Fidel Castro (3 percent) and Yasser Arafat (4 percent) have had lower favorable scores, and O.J. Simpson (11 percent) and tobacco-maker Philip Morris (15 percent) have had higher ratings. 
 
 The spill also has slightly changed attitudes about offshore drilling. In May, 60 percent said they supported the proposal allowing for more offshore drilling off the U.S. coast. That percentage now has dropped to 53 percent, although it’s still a majority. 
 
 The economy and the economic blame game 
 
 The other dominant story in the poll is the public’s sour mood about the economy and about the nation’s direction. 
 
 After last month’s disappointing jobs report (in which the economy added just 41,000 private-sector jobs), only 33 percent believe the U.S. economy will get better in the next 12 months. That is a seven-point drop since May. 
 
 In addition, 62 percent say the country is headed in the wrong direction, which is its highest point in Obama’s presidency. 
 
 Yet the public continues to blame George W. Bush more for the state of the economy than it does Obama. 
 
 According to the poll, a combined 40 percent say that Bush and his administration’s policies are “solely” or “mainly” responsible for the current economic conditions, while just 27 percent say the same of Obama and his policies. ||||| To borrow the famous line from the 1976 film "Network," Americans are mad as hell at Washington — and they’re not going to take it anymore. 
 
 That, at least, is the conclusion from the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, which finds: 
 
 that less than half the country approves of President Obama's job; 
 
 that the percentage believing the current Congress is either below average or among the worst is at an all-time high; 
 
 that the number viewing the Republican Party favorably is at an all-time low; 
 
 and that the Democratic Party doesn’t fare much better. 
 
 What's more, nearly six in 10 respondents still say the country is headed in the wrong direction, and almost two-thirds think that the U.S. economy has yet to hit rock-bottom. 
 
 And it's unlikely those attitudes will change before the midterm elections that will take place less than three months from now. 
 
 "I think it’s a ‘Jet Blue’ election. Everyone is frustrated," says Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted the survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff. "And everyone is headed for the emergency exit." 
 
 See the full poll results here (.pdf) 
 
 One problem solved, others still remain 
 
 According to the poll, President Obama’s job approval rating stands at 47 percent, which is up two points from June. But that’s only part of the story. 
 
 With the stoppage of the Gulf Coast oil leak, 50 percent now say they approve of how the president has handled the spill’s aftermath. That’s a shift from June, when just 42 percent approved and 50 percent disapproved. 
 
 "People haven’t turned in a personal way against him," Hart says. "His numbers, as they’ve gone up on the Gulf [spill], sort of say that he will not be like Bush where Hurricane Katrina took him under." 
 
 Yet, while those numbers have improved, the public’s confidence in Obama’s handling of the Afghanistan war — after the highly publicized leak of documents pertaining to the war’s progress, and after more U.S. casualties there — has declined. 
 
 By a 45-44 percent margin, Americans now disapprove of Obama’s handling of Afghanistan, which is a shift from March, when the public approved, 53-35 percent. 
 
 Perhaps more troubling for the White House, 52 percent say they disapprove of the president’s handling of the economy — the highest disapproval ever for Obama on this question. 
 
 Overall, 40 percent think the country is worse off since he became president; 31 percent think it’s better off; and 28 percent think it’s in the same place. 
 
 That said, seven in 10 believe Obama has met or exceeded their expectations as president. But strong majorities say he’s fallen short on changing business as usual in Washington (65 percent), on jump-starting the economy (66 percent), on addressing the budget deficit (67 percent), and on reducing spending (70 percent). 
 
 Down on Congress and the political parties 
 
 While Obama’s overall approval rating remains lukewarm at 47 percent, it’s still enviable to those on Capitol Hill. 
 
 A combined 60 percent say that this year’s Congress is either below average or one of the worst in history — the highest percentage in the history of the NBC/WSJ poll. 
 
 By comparison, 31 percent say it has been average, and only 6 percent believe it has been above average or one of the best. 
 
 In addition, a whopping 72 percent disapprove of Congress’ job. 
 
 The political parties don’t fare much better. Just 33 percent have a positive view of the Democratic Party, versus 44 percent who have a negative view. 
 
 As for the Republican Party, only 24 percent see it positively — the GOP’s lowest-ever rating in the poll — while 46 percent see it negatively. 
 
 And for the first time in the survey, the Tea Party movement has a net-negative rating, with 30 percent viewing it positively and 34 percent viewing it negatively. 
 
 GOP gains ground on the economy 
 
 Despite the tepid esteem overall for the Republican Party, Republicans have made significant gains on the issue most likely to shape the outcome of the November elections and beyond – the economy. 
 
 In July 2008 — during the presidential campaign — Democrats held a 16-point advantage (41-25 percent) on the question of which party is better trusted to address economic issues. A year later, their advantage fell to six points (35-29 percent). And in March, the parties were even (31-31 percent). 
 
 Now, Republicans hold a three-point edge (34-31 percent) on this question.
– It is hard to get 91% of Americans to agree on anything, but this is nearing unanimous: Congress stinks. Gallup's latest poll pegs Congress' approval rating at 9%, the lowest mark in the 39-year history of Gallup. The number brings 2013's average to 14%, which would be an all-time annual low. It's worth noting that while the number is historically low for Gallup, it's right in line with the other numbers in Real Clear Politics' polling average, and far from the lowest any poll has recorded. An AP-GfK poll from the first week of the government shutdown came in with just a 5% approval rating. As we've noted in the past, this puts Congress somewhere south of torture and Paris Hilton. President Obama's numbers look delightful by comparison—Gallup gives him a 56% approval rating—but he did take some hits in the character departments. For the first time, less than half of Americans believe he's a "strong and decisive leader," with the number dipping from 53% in September to 47% now. He's also dropped five points in the "honest and trustworthy" category, to 55%.