For President Barack Obama and the beset — and worried — Democratic party, the latest CBS News poll now has Obama in the danger zone.

It has his approval rating at 46 percent — below the “magical” 50 percent mark. Political scientists and experts often note that if a President’s approval rating is less than 50 percent going into mid-terms, then the party is in for a major shellacking.

If this poll holds up, it looks as if Home Depot will have to re-order some shellac come November:

President Obama’s job approval rating has fallen to 46 percent, according to a new CBS News poll.

That rating is Mr. Obama’s lowest yet in CBS News polling, and the poll marks the first time his approval rating has fallen below the 50 percent mark. Forty-one percent now say they disapprove of Mr. Obama’s performance as president.

In last month’s CBS News poll, 50 percent of Americans approved of how the president was handling his job, while thirty-nine percent disapproved.

Mr. Obama still receives strong support from Democrats (eight in ten approve of his performance), but his approval rating among Republicans is only 13 percent. More importantly, Mr. Obama’s approval rating among independents has declined 10 points in recent months – and it now stands at just 42 percent.

Domestic issues – and not his response to terrorist threats – appear to be driving the president’s approval rating downward.

Just 41 percent now approve of his handling of the economy, which Americans say is the nation’s most pressing issue. Forty-seven percent disapprove. The president’s marks on handling health care, with reforms still under debate in Congress, are even lower – just 36 percent approve, while 54 percent disapprove. Both of these approval ratings are the lowest of Mr. Obama’s presidency.

The poll also found:

Obama gets higher marks on health care than either party in Congress.

His ratings are higher for Afghanistan and the war on terror than on domestic issues — again a sign that Americans are unhappy with the job that he is doing on what they hired him to do: fix the economy.

Most Americans don’t agree with Dick Cheney, conservative talk show hosts and conservative bloggers over how the administration handled the thwarted Christmas underwear bombing.

In the poll, 57 percent of Americans approve of the way the Obama administration has responded to the attempted attack, and 29 percent disapprove. Views are highly partisan – 75 percent of Democrats approve, while just 41 percent of Republicans and 55 percent of independents do.