Obama public support down on key issues

After six months in office, President Barack Obama's approval rating has declined over the handling of key issues in the United States, according to a new poll.

In the survey conducted by Washington Post/ABC News, some 52% approved his work on the embattled economy, down 8 points from its peak.

The president's handling of health care rated 49%, again down eight points.

About half of respondents, 49%, disapproved of his handling of the deficit while 43% approved it, according to the poll conducted by telephone Wednesday through Saturday.

Obama's solutions were strongly disapproved of on specific areas, for example on the economy, 35% vs. 29%, on health care, 33% vs. 25%, on the deficit, 38% vs. 19%.

The president's 'overall' approval rating remains higher than his marks on specific domestic issues, with 59% giving him positive reviews and 37% disapproving.

However, the latest poll shows for the first time in his presidency that Obama has fallen under 60% in Post-ABC polling, and he is a substantial six percentage points lower than he was just a month ago.