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The survey findings also included results from a set of focus groups in Arapahoe County, Colo., a GOP-leaning county that Obama carried in 2008.

The Post reported in its story on the poll that "Republicans are faced with significant discord within their ranks. They are divided over how much to work with Obama on energy and climate-change legislation. There are generational differences on the role of religion in public life and how much emphasis the party should put on hot-button issues such as same-sex marriage. And the party's moderate and conservative wings have widely divergent views on a number of issues."

However, the Post reported, "If there is one thing the party's strategists have in their favor at the outset of their push to regain majority status, it is broad public dissatisfaction with the way the country's political system is working -- the same force that helped propel Obama into office a year ago."

Poll resultes showed more than six in 10 Americans say they are unhappy with the way things are going politically, and half are discontent or downright angry about the policies of the Obama administration. On each of these fronts, dissatisfaction among Republicans is nearly universal.

On health care, nearly eight in 10 Republicans and GOP-leaners said they want party lawmakers to try to stop the health care overhauls espoused by Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress.

On energy policy, however, more Republicans lean toward compromise concerning Democratic efforts: 56 percent want Republicans to engage Democrats in an effort to get GOP ideas into the legislation; 41 percent would prefer simply to stop the Democratic agenda.

The poll showed 69 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaners believe it is all right for the party's candidates to take moderate positions on some issues; 27 percent say they want candidates to hew exclusively to conservative positions.

"Support for allowing some deviation from conservative views is particularly high among the two in 10 who describe themselves as conservative on fiscal issues but moderate to liberal on social ones," the Post reported. "Among that group, more than eight in 10 say it is OK for Republican candidates to veer from conservative positions.

"Among those who see themselves as very conservative in their views (about a third of the sample), however, 53 percent say candidates should embrace only conservative positions, highlighting the potential for continued divisions and GOP primary battles next year."

The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.