Obama presidential approval index slips to minus 5

The "passion index" is minus 5 today. Those who strongly approve of President Obama's performance in office are outnumbered by those who strongly disapprove by a record 5 points, and the overall index is creeping toward 50-50, at 52%-48% today, according to Rasmussen.

Thomas Lifson adds: the Mission to Moscow has apparently failed to generate much in the way of a bump in approval numbers. In the past, Obama has always been able to bump up his approval with a media extravaganza. Perhaps it is the media dominance by Michael Jackson? Or (more likely) the magic is simply wearing off.

Gene Schwimmer adds:

Obama is like a rock. Not as in, "Solid as a...", but as in "Dropping like a..." Today, Obama's Rasmussen Approval Index hits a new low -- a dramatic drop from his previous low of -2. His overall approval rating remains at his current low of 52%, set just yesterday (and meaning that he has been at 52%, his lowest level, for two days in a row).

Given Rasmussen's practice of using a three-day moving average, and yesterday's AI of -2, Obama's AI would have to have been below -5 for at least one of the past three days, possibly as low as (yikes!) -11.01. Note also that Obama's Strongly disapprove number, 37%, represents a new high for him and the 32% Strongly approve number is one point above his previous low.

In other Rasmussen Poll news, Republicans beat Democrats in the Generic Congressional Ballot, 41%-38%. This precisely equals the numbers and maximum 3-point gap set on April 26. A subsequent above-41% or below-38% showing would represent a new post-election GOP high and/or Democrat low, respectively. A four-consecutive-week GOP lead would also mark a new first.