President Obama's job approval rating has fallen below 50 percent for the first time in Quinnipiac University's polling, with 48 percent approving of his performance, 42 percent disapproving and 10 percent undecided.

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Last month, Quinnipiac had Obama exactly at 50 percent, which was the low end of his range in major national polls. This week, a CBS poll had him at 53 percent and a Washington Post/ABC News poll at 56 percent.

"Although President Obama's job approval rating is below 50 percent for the first time nationally, it is not statistically different from his 50 percent approval rating in October. Nevertheless, in politics symbols matter and this is not a good symbol for the White House," said Quinnipiac's Peter Brown.

Fifty-two percent of respondents disapprove of Obama's handling of the economy while 43 percent approve with 5 percent undecided, compared to last month when voters were split with 47 percent approving and 46 percent approving, according to the poll conducted Nov. 9-16.

More voters also disapprove of Obama's handling of Afghanistan than did so last month, with 49 percent viewing his performance negatively, 38 percent approving and 12 percent undecided. Last month, 42 percent approved, 40 percent disapproved and 17 percent were undecided.

Forty-eight percent say the U.S. is doing the right thing by fighting the war in Afghanistan while 41 percent say the country shouldn't be involved, with 11 percent undecided. Last month, 52 percent supported involvement compared to 37 percent who didn't.

Sixty-five percent said eliminating the threat of terrorism in Afghanistan is a worthwhile goal while 29 percent disagree, with 7 percent undecided. But 53 percent don't think the U.S. will be successful in doing so while 36 percent do, with 11 percent undecided.

By a 54-37 margin, voters don't think the U.S. goal in Afghanistan should be building a stable democratic government, and even more don't believe the U.S. would be successful doing that (by 63 percent to 22 percent).

Forty-seven percent think the American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, should get the 40,000 additional troops he has asked for, while 42 percent do not, with 11 percent undecided.

Fifty-five percent want U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan for two years or less. The breakdown: 31 percent want U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan for less than a year; 24 percent are willing to see them stay there for one to two years; 12 percent for two to five years; 2 percent for five to 10 years; and 27 percent for as long as it takes.

"Overall, the new numbers on Afghanistan show an almost across the board erosion of support for the war and worries about getting too deeply involved there militarily. But when the focus is on fighting terror, American resolve remains strong," Brown said.


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