We'll always have Bush: New AP poll shows overwhelming amount of Americans blame former Prez for economy

However, Obama's numbers suffer across the board in the new poll on such indices as leadership, where he gets only 51 percent of the public to say he's a strong leader; that's down from 60 percent in June and 65 percent following the capture and death of Osama bin Laden in May. The poll was conducted just from August 18-22, with Monday being a day where the news was dominated by the apparent ouster of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Here's more from the Yahoo story of the poll:

Some 75 percent in the poll said the country is heading in the wrong direction, up from 63 percent in June. Among Democrats, 61 percent chose "wrong direction" — up from 46 percent in June.

In a new high, 52 percent of all adults said they disapprove of his overall performance — 52 percent, up from 47 percent in June. Among Democrats, approval fell 8 points, to 74 percent from 82 percent in June. Among Republicans, it fell to 11 percent from 22 percent.

Politically, the poll underscores the difficult time ahead for Obama as he seeks re-election in a shaky economy.

Unemployment increased to 9.2 percent in July, up from 9.1 percent in June. And most economists don't expect it to decline much below 8.5 percent by the November 2012 presidential election. No president has won re-election with a jobless rate that high since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936.

The President is scheduled to end his summer vacation this Saturday, traveling back to Washington to participate in the Martin Luther King dedication on Sunday - just when Hurricane Irene could be hitting the nation's capital in a potential ferocious storm.