THE SLIPPAGE WATCH - AT 7:38 A.M. ET:  It is now becoming a major political story.  The president's approval rating with the American people is slipping, and the decline does not appear to be a one-week phenomenon.  The love affair is coming to an end.  There are rumors that the ring will soon be given back:

(CBS) President Obama's approval rating has fallen six points in the past month, a new CBS News poll finds, amid growing skepticism about his handling of the economy and questions about the impact of the stimulus package.

The president's current approval rating, which is 57 percent, is still relatively high. But it has fallen 11 points from its peak of 68 percent in April, and has also dropped since last month's mark of 63 percent. His disapproval rating, meanwhile, has risen from 23 percent in April to 32 percent today.

The decline in support is coming not from Republicans - whose support for the president has actually risen - but from Democrats and independents. While 82 percent of Democrats still approve of the job Mr. Obama is doing, this number is down ten points from last month.

The president's support among independents has fallen eight points to 50 percent. Only 30 percent of Republicans back Mr. Obama, though that's up from 23 percent in June.

COMMENT:  The figure for independents must be especially troubling for the president.  The CBS poll reflects other surveys in this regard. 

What makes the numbers even more grim for the previously euphoric White House is that there doesn't seem to be any good news ahead.  Mr. Obama's foreign policy has run into a stone wall called reality, and he's realizing that what he learned from college textbooks may not be all that relevant.  The economy shows no signs of improvement.  Huge legislative initiatives, especially health-care "reform," are proving less than popular with an increasingly doubting public.

And this is summer, when attention turns away from politics.

We have said here before that autumn will be hot, politically hot.  If the president's problems persist as we enter the 2010 election cycle, those Republicans who still have breath and a heartbeat may start to see the makings of victory.

July 14, 2009