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Of the 50 states and nation's capital, the two locales with the smallest populations are polar opposites when it comes to judging the job President Obama has done in office over the first half of 2010. At 85 percent, Washington, D.C., is the most approving of Obama's job performance, while at 29% Wyoming is easily the lowest, according to a new report from Gallup.

Not surprisingly, the two states (neither of which has changed its presidential vote since 1968) also were at opposite ends in the 2008 presidential election. With 92% of the vote, D.C. was Obama's top-performing state; at 33%, Wyoming was his worst and 1 point lower than in Utah.

Following D.C., Hawaii (68%), Delaware (62%) and Maryland (60%) finish in the top four of most-approving states, followed by New York and Connecticut at 57% apiece, and California, Rhode Island and Massachusetts all at 56%. Obama's home state of Illinois gives him a 54% approval rating, the 10th highest.

The states with the lowest approval rating for Obama are equally as unsurprising: Utah, West Virginia and Idaho (all 34%); Oklahoma (37%); Alaska and Montana (38%); Arkansas and Kentucky (40%).

The results, based on interviews with 90,000 adults over the first six months of the year, showed little change from 2009. As Gallup reports, "Obama's greatest support is concentrated in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic," while "Many of his lower approval ratings come from Mountain West and Southern states."

His approval rating in battleground states could play a significant role in the 2010 midterm elections, as Democratic candidates around the country weigh how closely they want to be tied to the president's agenda, as well as the positives and negatives of having the him in town to campaign for them.

After averaging a 57% approval rating in Gallup's 2009 polling, Obama's average rating for the first six months of 2010 is down to 49%. He currently has a 47.6% RCP Average approval rating, 1 point higher than his disapproval rating.