Due largely to the low marks he received for his handling of the economy and health care, and his drop in support among independents, a new Quinnipiac survey finds President Obama's approval rating down to 50% -- his lowest since becoming president (July 27- Aug. 3, 2409 RV, MoE +/- 2%).

Obama's approval rating includes 85% of Democrats and 16% of Republicans, while independents are split 45%-45%. He now has a 53.6% RCP Average Job Approval Rating.

At the beginning of July, Obama's approval rating was 57% with a 33% disapproval rating. His approval not only dropped 7 points, but his disapproval rating increased 9 points.

Still, voters trust Obama more than congressional Republicans to fix the economy (by 11 points) and health care (by 9 points), and they disapprove of the way GOPers on Capitol Hill are doing their job by a 59%-29% margin.

"The good news for President Barack Obama is that American voters still see him as better able to handle the economy and health care than Republicans in Congress. The bad news is his margins are shrinking," said Quinnipiac assistant director Peter A. Brown.

Just 29% approve of the job Republicans are doing in Congress (including 48% of Republicans), Democrats aren't faring much better at 35% approval -- down 3 points from last month and 8 points from June. The GOP's rating has stayed about the same every month since March.

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