Wowzie.

Obama’s job approval rating is below 50% in the RealClearPolitics average (7 polls). It’s 49% in the Gallup poll. Obama’s disapproval average of 44.6% is at its all-time high, and the gap between approval and disapproval—5.3%—is the smallest it’s ever been. We, many in politics, follow this number the way Wall Street tracks the Dow. Dropping below 50% is big news to Washington folks. Remember, Clinton never fell below 53% in his second term, while sinking approval ratings ruined Bush 43’s presidency.

Matthew Dowd, a Democrat who helped Bush win in 2004, says every president with a job approval rating above 51% has won re-election in the last 60 years, while no president below 47% has won. So Obama’s in an uncomfortable gray zone between winning and losing. He wants, at minimum, to stay above 47%, but really to reverse his downward trend and get back over 51%.

At 49.9%, Obama’s weakened in his dealings with Congress, itself with an average job approval rating of only 27% (disapproval average is at 64%).