Despite the belief that leaders are putting politics first in debt ceiling negotiations, approval ratings remain largely unchanged in Washington

Natalie Gonnella
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Amid default fears and harsh criticisms of political motives, overall Americans' opinions of elected leaders in Washington have remained largely unchanged so far this summer.

Interestingly, according to the latest approval ratings from Gallup, although quite low, voters' views of President Barack Obama, the Republicans in Congress, and the Democrats in Congress are about where they have been over the past year.

However, when it comes to comparisons:

Most Americans think the Republicans and the Democrats in Congress are putting their own political interests ahead of the nation's interests in the debt ceiling negotiations, and nearly half say the same of the president. Additionally, half think that Obama and Congress are doing a worse job than previous leaders of solving the nation's problems, including 39% who say it is the worst in their lifetime.

With economic issues expected to have a major impact on the upcoming election cycle, it will be interesting to see how approval ratings may fluctuate depending on the outcome of current debt ceiling negotiations.