Six months of alarming revelations about US surveillance programs and the botched launch of HealthCare.gov have taken a toll on President Obama's standing with the American people. Trust in the president is trending downward, according to a recent Gallup poll. Forty-seven percent of those surveyed disagreed with the notion that Obama "is honest and trustworthy," though a slight majority (50 percent) still think the description applies. It's a worrying development for a president whose personality often polls well with the public. Worse yet, 52 percent of voters answered that Obama is not honest and trustworthy in a similar poll from Quinnipiac University, with just 44 percent supporting the president. "Any elected official with an 8-point trust deficit is in serious trouble," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

President Obama's job approval rating has also taken a hit of late; Quinnipiac's most recent poll shows that 54 percent of participants disapprove of the way Obama is handling things. The Obama administration is still trying to resolve issues that have plagued HealthCare.gov since the website launched last month. Only six people managed to successfully sign up on day one, and HealthCare.gov saw just 27,000 signups in all of October. Obama has personally been criticized for falling short on his promise that any Americans happy with the health insurance they had before the Affordable Care Act was signed into law would be able to keep their policy. For some, that has turned out to be untrue. Obama has apologized for the blunder and insists his administration is working to end unexpected policy cancellations.