Obama8217;s approval rating drops below 50

8220;The poll indicates that the biggest drop in approval comes from noncollege-educated white voters,8221; said Keating Holland,CNN8217;s polling director.

8220;That8217;s one indication among many that Obama8217;s growing unpopularity may be more related to unemployment and the poor economy8221; than to factors such as his strategy for Afghanistan.

The poll was conducted Wednesday and Thursday after Obama announced his Afghan policy on Tuesday.

Six in 10 has favoured Obama8217;s move to send 30,000 more troops to that country,the CNN said.

Two-thirds also supported his plan to start removing US forces from Afghanistan in 2011 8212; although the poll indicates most Americans think that announcing such a date in advance is a bad idea,and they are sceptical about whether conditions then will allow the United States to meet that goal,it said.