Enlarge By Jewel Samad, AFP/Getty Images A new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows the public's confidence is waning in President Obama's ability to straighten out the troubled economy. OVAL OFFICE APPROVAL OVAL OFFICE APPROVAL The Gallup organization first started asking Americans how they approved of the job the president was doing in the 1940s. Click on the image above to see how each president since then has fared in the approval poll, look at some news events that influenced public opinion and compare how approval ratings evolved for each president. HOW OBAMA IS DOING HOW OBAMA IS DOING Percentage of Americans who approve of the way President Obama is handling: Source: USA TODAY/Gallup Poll of 1,006 adults July 17-19; margin of error: +/- 4 percentage points. WASHINGTON  Qualms about President Obama 's stewardship of the economy are growing, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, as Americans become more pessimistic about when they predict the recession will end. At six months in office, Obama's 55% approval rating puts him 10th among the 12 post-World War II presidents at this point in their tenures. When he took office, he ranked seventh. THE OVAL: Obama on health care "His ratings have certainly come back down to Earth in a very short time period," Republican pollster Whit Ayres says. White House adviser David Axelrod calls the "turbulence" predictable, given the nation's economic woes and Obama's ambitious agenda. "People fundamentally like this president, and they believe he's smart and capable and strong and trying to do the right thing," Axelrod says. The findings forecast the rough patch that probably is ahead for Obama if unemployment continues to increase, as the administration predicts. Lower ratings could make it more difficult for him to prevail on his top legislative priority. The president met with doctors and nurses at the Children's National Medical Center on Monday as he pushed the House and Senate to pass health-care overhauls before leaving on their August recess. Obama continues to be highly regarded personally. Two-thirds see him as a strong and decisive leader and someone who understands the problems they face in their daily lives. A majority says his administration "is creating a new spirit of idealism." However, there is a widening disconnect between Obama's personal standing and support for the policies he advocates: • By 49%-47%, those surveyed disapprove of how he is handling the economy, a turnaround from his 55%-42% approval in May. The steepest drop came from conservative and moderate Democrats. • By 50%-44%, they disapprove of how he is handling health care policy. • A 59% majority say his proposals call for too much government spending and 52% say they call for too much expansion of government power. • Expectations of the economy's turnaround are souring a bit. In February, the average prediction for a recovery was 4.1 years; now it's 5.5 years. • The administration's stimulus package isn't seen as a benefit by most whether viewed in the short term or the long term, in how it will impact the country or individuals. Only a third think it will help their own family's finances in the long run. Obama "might make the policies more popular by being associated with him," says historian H.W. Brands of the University of Texas-Austin. "But it's almost equally possible that it will make him less popular by linking him with those policies." The poll of 1,006 adults, taken Friday through Sunday by land line and cellphone, has a margin of error of +/– 4 percentage points. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more