President Obama in Iowa during the 2012 campaign. / Nati Harnik, AP

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

Only 38% of voters in Iowa - the state that launched his presidential candidacy in 2008 - now approve of his performance as president, according to a poll from Quinnipiac University.

Meanwhile, 59% disapprove of Obama, mostly because of the new health care law and the economy.

These are the worst numbers ever for Obama in the Hawkeye State.

The president has a special fondness for Iowa. His win over Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards in the 2008 Democratic caucuses fueled his rise to the presidency.

"President Barack Obama twice carried Iowa and it was the Iowa Caucuses which began his march to the presidency," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "But if he were on the ballot here today he would be toast."

Also from Brown:

"And, his overwhelmingly negative job approval - including thumbs down from 15% of Democrats and 62% of independent voters - could be having an impact on the prospects for Iowa Democrats who do face the voters in 2014.

"Half of the voters say their Senate vote will have nothing to do with Obama, but among the other half, twice as many say it is a vote against the president rather than for him. His job approval among women is six points negative, compared to 37 points among men."