Obama sees sharpest popularity drop in 50 years

A new poll revealed that Obama's popularity drop is the sharpest in 50 years of any president at the same stage of his first term.

Approval rate of the first African-American US president has declined sharply since July.

Barack Obama averaged a 53% job approval rating in his third quarter in office (July 20 through Oct. 19), according to Gallup Daily tracking.

That is a sharp drop from the 62% he recorded from April, the survey showed. President Obama entered the White House in January with a soaring 78% approval rating.

The 9-point drop in the most recent quarter is the largest Gallup has ever measured for an elected president between the second and third quarters of his term, dating back to 1953.

Healthcare reform plan has been a critical issue during the third quarter as president's main domestic priority.

The US president hoped that Congress would vote on healthcare legislation before its August recess, but that goal was missed, and some members of Congress faced angry constituents at town hall meetings to discuss health care reform. Meanwhile, unemployment continued to climb near 10%.

Outside the United States, Afghanistan's notorious war plays a significant role as Obama is mulling plans to send more troops to the war-torn country.

Earlier on Wednesday, former vice president Dick Cheney slammed the White House, accusing Obama of failing to give American troops on the ground a clear mission or defined goals and of being seemingly "afraid to make a decision" about Afghanistan.