The spring season is supposed to be a time of renewal and hope. For President Obama and Congress, the winter was rough and spring hasn't been much better with a heated budget showdown and talk of a potential government shutdown. While it may be expected at this point, Americans do not like seeing their elected officials spar so bitterly and this is reflected in lower job ratings across the board. For President Obama, more than three in five U.S. adults (62%) give him negative ratings on the overall job he is doing while 38% give him positive marks. This is down from last month when 39% of Americans gave the President positive ratings and 61% negative. This month marks the President's lowest ratings this year.

It's not surprising that nine in ten Republicans (91%) and Conservatives (90%) give the President negative marks. But he is also receiving negative ratings from over half of Moderates (55%) and over two-thirds of Independents (69%). Support among his base is also not as strong as the White House would probably like. Three in ten Democrats give President Obama negative marks (31%) as do one-quarter of Liberals (27%).

Congressional approval and direction of the country

While President Obama may be in negative territory, he is still doing better than Congress. Just 8% of Americans give Congress positive marks for the overall job they are doing while over nine in ten (92%) give them negative ratings. This is a new low point for Congress and down from 10% positive and 90% negative last month.

Also, even though Republicans may control the House and Democrats the Senate, there are no partisan differences in congressional job ratings. Over nine in ten Republicans (92%), Democrats (93%) and Independents (93%) give Congress negative marks. In fact, three in five Independents (60%) give Congress a rating of poor – the lowest in our scale.

The mood of the country is also turning more negative. Just one-quarter of Americans (26%) feel that things in the country are moving in the right direction while three-quarters (74%) believe they are heading down the wrong track. This is down from last month when 28% felt things were moving in the right direction and 72% believed they were going off on the wrong track and the lowest since 2009.

So What?

There is a saying that you shouldn't air your dirty laundry in public. With the current budget showdown, that's exactly what Congress and the White House seemed to do and the American public did not like it. They know it's not easy and they know there are confrontations, but with the threat of a government shutdown only averted at the 11th hour, voters seemed to believe everyone was to blame for that messy display. There are still months to go before all these individuals face a re-election, so hopefully Americans forget the past few weeks by then.