Forty-five percent rated Obama's performance on the economy and jobs as unsatisfactory while 36 percent gave him a satisfactory mark.

The results were less clear cut on Afghanistan and health care. Forty-two percent regarded Obama's handling of health care as unsatisfactory compared to 40 percent who called it satisfactory. Thirty-eight percent gave Obama an unsatisfactory on Afghanistan while 37 percent said his performance was satisfactory.

On all these measures, Ipsos credited Obama with a "satisfactory" mark if those polled gave him an A or a B, and unsatisfactory if he drew a D or an F. So, the balance of those who responded either were undecided or gave him a C.

The poll also found the Republican Party making some gains on the Democrats when it came to how favorably or unfavorably Americans saw each. Democrats were viewed favorably by a 51 percent to 46 percent margin, but that was down from 61 percent to 34 percent a year ago. Republicans were seen unfavorably by 54 percent to 44 percent, but that's a modest improvement on the 58 percent to 36 percent margin of a year ago.