(Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo) 
 
 Weary of waiting for an economic recovery worth its name, a frustrated American public has sent Barack Obama's job approval rating to a career low - with a majority in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll favoring a Republican Congress to act as a check on his policies. 
 
 Registered voters by 53-39 percent in the national survey say they'd rather see the Republicans in control of Congress as a counterbalance to Obama's policies than a Democratic-led Congress to help support him. It was similar in fall 2010, when the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives and gained six Senate seats. 
 
 See PDF with full results and charts here. 
 
 Obama's job approval rating, after a slight winter rebound, has lost 5 points among all adults since March, to 41 percent, the lowest of his presidency by a single point. Fifty-two percent disapprove, with "strong" disapproval exceeding strong approval by 17 percentage points. He's lost ground in particular among some of his core support groups. 
 
 Economic discontent remains the driving element in political views in this survey, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates. Americans rate the condition of the economy negatively by 71-29 percent - the least bad since November 2007, but still dismal by any measure. Only 28 percent think the economy's improving, down by 9 points since just before Obama won his second term. He gets just 42 percent approval for handling it. 
 
 Economic views are strongly related to political preferences. Among people who see the economy improving, 65 percent prefer Democratic control of Congress, while among those who see the economy as stagnant or worsening, 62 percent favor Republican control. Notably, economic views are linked with preferences for control of Congress regardless of people's partisan affiliation. 
 
 The results suggest the corrosive effects of the long downturn on the president's popularity: Among those who say the economy is in bad shape, Obama's overall approval rating has lost 20 points since February 2012, from 46 percent then to 26 percent now. 
 
 The president faces other challenges. While he's hailed insurance exchange sign-ups as a marker of the Affordable Care Act's success, the program and his rating for handling it have lost ground, both down from their levels late last month after the Healthcare.gov website was stabilized. The law gets 44 percent support, down 5 points; Obama has just 37 percent approval for its implementation, down 7. 
 
 One reason is that the law seems to have opened an avenue for public ire about health care costs to be directed at the administration. Six in 10 blame the ACA for increasing costs nationally, and 47 percent think it's caused their own health care expenses to rise. Regardless of whether or how much those costs would have risen otherwise, Obamacare is taking a heavy dose of the blame. 
 
 Separately, a current issue on the world stage offers no respite for Obama: Given continued tensions over Ukraine, just 34 percent of Americans approve of how he's handling that situation, 8 points fewer than early last month. Forty-six percent disapprove, with two in 10 withholding judgment. 
 
 DISCONTENT/MIDTERMS - With these and other problems - but chiefly the economy - the public by more than 2-1, 66-30 percent, says the country's headed seriously off on the wrong track. That's about where it's been lately, and more negative than a year ago. 
 
 General anti-incumbency results: Just 22 percent of Americans say they're inclined to re-elect their representative in Congress, unchanged from last month as the fewest in ABC/Post polls dating back 25 years. 
 
 Another outcome is risk for the president's party, in punishment for his handling of the helm. A single point divides Democratic and Republican candidates for the House in preference among registered voters, 45-44 percent. Among those who say they're certain to vote (with Republicans more apt to show up in midterms), that goes to 44-49 percent. 
 
 Independents, a sometimes swing-voting group, favor Republican House candidates by 55-32 percent (among those who say they're certain to vote). And, as with views on control of Congress, perceptions of the economy correlate with congressional vote preference, regardless of partisanship. 
 
 ISSUES - None of this means the GOP is home free. A robust improvement in the economy could change the equation. (As many, at least, say it's currently holding steady, 35 percent, as think it's getting worse, 36 percent.) And even as the brunt of economic unhappiness falls on the president, the public divides essentially evenly on which party they trust more to handle the economy - suggesting that the Republicans have yet to present a broadly appealing alternative. 
 
 In another example, for all of Obamacare's controversies, the Democrats hold a slight 8-point edge in trust to handle health care, again indicating that the Republicans have yet to seize the opportunity to present a compelling solution of their own. Indeed, the Democrats have a 6-point lead in trust to handle "the main problems the nation faces" - although, as with all others, that narrows among likely voters, in this case to 37-40 percent, a numerical (but not significant) GOP edge. 
 
 The Republicans have a 9-point advantage in trust to handle the federal deficit - an improvement for the party from last month. Similarly, Americans by a 7-point margin trust the Republicans over Obama to find the right mix of spending to cut and federal programs to maintain. The president had an 11-point lead on that question just after the partial government shutdown last fall. 
 
 The Democrats push back with two results that they're likely to stress as the November election draws closer: One is a broad, 20-point advantage, 52-32 percent, in trust over the Republicans to help the middle class (but again, this narrows among likely voters). The other is an even wider, 30-point lead, 55-25 percent, in trust to handle issues of particular concern to women. 
 
 The Republicans have some vulnerability in other areas, as well. Americans say the Democratic Party comes closer than the GOP to their positions on climate change, by 18 points; whether or not to raise the minimum wage, by 16 points; gay marriage, by 14 points; and the issue of abortion, by 8 points. On one remaining issue, gun control, the Republicans have a slight, 5-point edge. 
 
 HEALTH CARE - Obamacare, for its part, is a subject the Republicans have sought to turn to their advantage in the midterm elections, and the poll results show ample opportunity. 
 
 Costs are a particular target. As noted, 47 percent of Americans feel that their health care costs are rising as a result of the ACA; 58 percent say the same about the overall costs of health care nationally. Just 8 and 11 percent, respectively, say the law has decreased these costs. If there's a case to be made that costs would have risen anyway - or that they would have risen faster absent the ACA - it's yet to resonate with large segments of the population. 
 
 Other assessments also are critical. The public by a 20-point margin, 44-24 percent, is more apt to say the law has made the overall health care system worse rather than better (although the number who say it's made things better is up by 5 points from December). The rest, 29 percent, see no change. Americans by 29-14 percent likewise say the ACA has made their own care worse rather than better, with more, 53 percent, reporting no impact. 
 
 Despite the website's improvements, half say the law's implementation is going worse than they expected when it began, vs. 41 percent better - another sign of the persistent antipathy that's dogged Obamacare from the start. 
 
 The poll also shows both the striking partisan division on Obamacare and the extent to which, on several questions, independents side more with Republicans on the issue. Thirty-eight percent of Democrats, for instance, say the ACA has increased health care costs nationally; that soars to 67 percent of independents and 73 percent of Republicans. And while 47 percent of Democrats think it's made the health care system better, just 6 and 16 percent of Republicans and independents, respectively, agree. 
 
 OBAMA/GROUPS - Divisions among groups remain especially stark in terms of Obama's ratings; further, as noted, he's lost ground in some of his core support groups. The president's approval rating since early March has lost 14 points among liberals, 12 points among people with postgraduate degrees, 10 points among urban residents, 9 points among Democrats and 7 points among those with incomes less than $50,000. He's lost 9 points among independents as well. 
 
 With 41 percent approval overall (his previous low was 42 percent last November and the same in October 2011), Obama's at new lows among nonwhites (61-34 percent, approve-disapprove) and liberals (63-31 percent), and matches his lows among moderates (46-48 percent) and independents (33-59 percent). His rating among Democrats, 74-22 percent, is a single point from its low. 
 
 Other results also mark the extent of the difficulties facing Obama and his party alike. A form of statistical analysis called regression finds that, as noted above, views on the economy correlate both with congressional vote preference, and views on which party should control Congress, independently of partisan affiliation. That suggests that the Democrats are in serious need of a positive shift in economic views. 
 
 That may be hard to accomplish. While 50 percent of Democrats say the economy's in good shape, that plummets not only among Republicans but independents as well, to 12 and 22 percent, respectively. And while 46 percent of Democrats see improvement in the economy, again just 22 percent of independents, and 15 percent of Republicans, agree. 
 
 Preferences on which party controls Congress may reflect a general inclination in favor of divided government - and don't always predict outcomes, as in 2002, when more registered voters preferred Democratic control yet the GOP held its ground. It's striking, nonetheless, that this poll finds Republican control favored not only in the 2012 red states, by 56-36 percent, but also by 51-41 percent in the blue states that backed Obama fewer than two years ago. 
 
 METHODOLOGY - This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone April 24-27, 2014, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 1,000 adults, including landline and cell-phone-only respondents. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points, including design effect. Partisan divisions are 32-21-38 percent, Democrats-Republicans-independents. 
 
 The survey was produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates of New York, N.Y., with sampling, data collection and tabulation by Abt-SRBI of New York, N.Y. ||||| The afterglow of President Obama’s reelection and inauguration appears to have vanished as increasingly negative views among Americans about his stewardship of the economy have forced his public approval rating back down to the 50 percent mark, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. 
 
 In December, just after he won a second term, Obama held an 18-percentage-point advantage over congressional Republicans on the question of whom the public trusted more to deal with the economy. Now, it’s a far more even split — 44 percent to 40 percent, with a slight edge for the president — but the share of those saying they have confidence in “neither” has ticked up into double digits. 
 
 The poll contains ample evidence of the disillusionment voters feel toward both sides amid a sense of continuing dysfunction in Washington, which since December has been grappling with fiscal crises and deadlines of its own making. 
 
 Almost two weeks into the automatic across-the-board budget cuts known as the sequester, a slim majority of Americans dis­approve of the reductions. At the same time, nearly three-quarters say they are feeling no impact on their lives, and fewer than half expect a toll on their family finances if the cuts continue. 
 
 Still, large majorities expect that the sequester will eventually damage the economy, the military and the government’s ability to provide basic services. Most, 68 percent, say they would like the two sides to work together to come up with a deal to stop the cuts. The desire for cooperation is widely shared across party lines. 
 
 View Graphic Obama’s reelection honeymoon ends 
 
 Asked who is responsible for the sequester, 47 percent say Republicans in Congress and 33 percent say Obama. 
 
 The poll suggests a closer divide on which side the public trusts in the battles over issues such as immigration and gun control — closer, perhaps, than the public’s policy preferences would indicate. Americans largely support the administration’s stand on new measures to curb gun violence, but on basic trust on the issue, the president and Republicans in Congress fare about evenly. 
 
 Obama’s overall job-approval rating stands at 50 percent, down five points from before he took the oath of office in January. Looking along partisan lines, the slippage since then has been particularly pronounced among political independents. Two months ago, independents tilted clearly in his direction, with 54 percent approving and 41 percent disapproving. Now, half of independents express a negative opinion of the president’s performance; just 44 percent approve. 
 
 The president has also seen an erosion in confidence among groups that he has counted as core supporters. Compared with a Post-ABC poll in December, the share of liberals who place their faith in Obama over Republicans when it comes to dealing with the economy is 14 points lower; there has been a 12-point slide among women. 
 
 At 50 percent, Obama’s overall standing in the poll is lower than that of most other modern second-term presidents at this point in their terms. Of the seven second-term presidents who have been in office since Harry S. Truman, only George W. Bush had a positive rating as low as 50 percent at this stage. 
 
 Obama and Bush share another similarity, one that describes what is arguably the most potent force shaping political decision-making in recent years: a deeply divided electorate. Among post-World War II presidents, Bush and Obama are the only ones to have led a nation as politically polarized as it is today. In both cases, there is a gap of more than 70 points between Democratic and Republican assessments of the president. 
 
 Congress remains far lower than the president in public esteem, with only 16 percent approving of its performance and 80 percent disapproving. That negative feeling extends to both parties, with congressional Democrats registering a ratio of 34 percent favorable to 62 percent unfavorable sentiment; Republicans are lower still, at 24 to 72. 
 
 The poll was conducted March 7 to 10 among a random sample of 1,001 adults. The full survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. 
 
 At a moment when the statistics — a booming stock market and surprising new strength in the job market — suggest a more vigorous economy, many Americans are not themselves seeing progress. 
 
 Barely more than half of those surveyed say the economy has started its recovery. And after a brief foray into neutral territory, most Americans again give Obama negative marks on handling the economy. The personal assessments of the economy’s trajectory relate directly to Obama’s overall rating: Seventy-three percent of those who say they sense economic growth approve of the way the president is doing his job, and an identical 73 percent of those who don’t see a recovering economy disapprove of his performance in office. 
 
 As they do on the economy, the president and the Republican opposition have rough parity on the question of who is better positioned on gun control, with Obama the choice of 42 percent and congressional Republicans, 41 percent. 
 
 On immigration, Obama has a six-point advantage, with 45 percent saying they trust him more and 39 percent expressing greater confidence in the Republicans’ approach. The margin may be surprisingly slender, given big majority support for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and strong Latino support for Obama in the November election. 
 
 Nor does the election seem to have produced a lasting consensus on which side is better equipped to figure out what government spending should be cut and what services preserved. When it comes to finding the right balance, 44 percent side with Republicans and 43 percent with the president. 
 
 The poll also confirms one of the political verities of deficit reduction: People may want to see an end to red ink, but there is rarely public support for reductions in popular social programs to achieve it. 
 
 Asked about alternatives to the automatic cuts now in place, 71 percent reject a reduction in Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor, and 60 percent oppose raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67. 
 
 There is broader but still limited support for slicing business tax deductions. Most, 56 percent, say they back limiting tax deductions for high-income earners as part of a path out of the sequester. Tax reform is often considered a quid pro quo for reining in entitlement spending, which is a long-term driver of deficit spending. 
 
 A Post-ABC News poll last week found broad opposition to the across-the-board cuts to the military that started March 1 with the sequester, but there is majority support in the new survey for more targeted defense cuts. 
 
 Cohen is director of polling for Capital Insight, the independent polling group of Washington Post Media. Capital Insight pollsters Peyton M. Craighill and Scott Clement contributed to this report. 
 
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– Before his second inauguration, President Obama enjoyed a 55% approval rating—but thanks to concerns over the economy, the figure has dropped again to 50%, a Washington Post-ABC News poll finds. Following Obama's reelection, Americans trusted him over congressional Republicans on the economy by 18 points; now the gap is just four points in Obama's favor, 44% to 40%, the Post reports. Obama's 50% mark puts him behind most modern presidents at this moment in their second terms—with the exception of George W. Bush, who also had a 50% approval rating. As for the sequester, a slight majority opposes it, but some three-quarters say it hasn't had an effect on them. On the other hand, most believe it will eventually hurt the economy. Some 47% say congressional Republicans are to blame for it, while 33% say Obama is to blame. But 68% say they want the two sides to cooperate to end the cuts. Click through for more from the poll.