Poll Tracker

Those most likely to blame the present were those from the opposition party -- 88 percent of Republicans blamed the president's policies, compared with 52 percent of Democrats.

Obama has initiated a number of spending programs intended to jump-start the economy, and the Treasury Department estimates that the federal debt has grown by more than a trillion dollars since he took office. The president notes that he inherited both an economic crisis and an already sizable deficit from President Bush.

On the economic crunch, most Americans agree with Obama: 54 percent said the recession that began under the Bush administration is to blame for the nation's economic woes, while 39 percent say Obama's policies are at fault.

A plurality of voters, 37 percent, say cutting the federal deficit in half in the next four years is number one among the four priorities the president listed in a speech to Congress in February, but 66 percent view it as the goal he is least likely to achieve. Sixty-eight percent expect government spending to increase under the Obama administration, while 46 percent think cuts in government spending help the economy

On tax increases, 54 percent said they would hurt the economy while 16 percent said they would help. On health care overhaul, 54 percent said middle-class tax cuts are more important than new spending for revamping the health care system.

The survey of 1,000 voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.