The Hill News

A majority of American adults disapprove of President Obama's job performance for the first time, after the number ticked upward one point in a Gallup daily tracking poll.

51 percent of U.S. adults said they disapproved of how Obama was handling his job, compared with 42 percent who approve.

The poll reflects a one-point change from Monday, when Obama's disapproval number hit 50 percent for the first time.

Republicans were quick to point out the new number as a debate has begun to emerge over whether Obama is an asset or liability to Democratic candidates in this fall's midterm elections.

The movement in the poll doesn't amount to any sort of seismic shift in public ! opinion toward Obama; the Gallup daily tracking poll represents a rolling average of public opinion in the pollster's last three days of opinion surveys.

But the fact that Obama's numbers steadily drift downward â€" combined with the fact that another Gallup poll showed Republicans with their widest advantage yet in generic congressional balloting â€" have Republicans feeling confident, for now, about their chances in November.

The latest Gallup poll, conducted August 14-16, has a three percent margin of error.