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President Obama heads into his second term in office with an overall positive approval rating, but the public remains ambivalent about his handling of the economy.

Fifty-one percent of Americans approve of the way Mr. Obama is handling his job, according to a survey by The New York Times/CBS News, with 41 percent disapproving. Mr. Obama's job approval rating is similar to George W. Bush's at the start of his second term, but much lower than the ratings of the previous two presidents who served eight years. (President Bill Clinton's approval rate was 60 percent in January 1997, and Ronald Reagan's was 62 percent in January 1985.) More than 8 in 10 Democrats approve of his job performance, 8 in 10 Republicans disapprove and independents are evenly divided.

The public has not changed its assessment of Mr. Obama's handling of the economy since the last-minute negotiations with Congress to avert the automatic tax increases and spending cuts that were scheduled to take affect at the end of last year. Almost half, 46 percent, approve of the way the president has been dealing with the economy and 49 percent disapprove.

The public is also closely divided over how the president is dealing with taxes. In the wake of the recent fiscal deal that raised taxes on individuals with incomes over $400,000, 45 percent of those surveyed approve of Mr. Obama's handling of taxes and 47 percent disapprove.

Last month, when negotiations to forestall the fiscal crisis were at a stalemate and taxes had not yet been raised on anyone, more than half — 52 percent — approved of how Mr. Obama was taking care of taxes.

Mr. Obama's management of the overall federal budget deficit continues to be viewed negatively: 37 percent approve and 54 percent disapprove, including a quarter of Democrats.

Susan Fales, of Wilmington, N.C., strongly approves of Mr. Obama's job performance. "A president doesn't have unlimited power but he's working on behalf of people like myself as best he can under the circumstances he is in," Mrs. Fales, 49, an unemployed Democrat, said in a follow-up interview.

John Gorden, 58, is an independent who disapproves of how Mr. Obama is handling all aspects of his job. "It seems Barack Obama is moving us closer and closer to socialism, to more of a European government," said Mr. Gorden, a consultant in the oil and gas industry who lives in Traverse City, Mich.

Moving away from fiscal matters, almost half, 49 percent, of respondents approve of the president's handling of foreign policy, and 36 percent disapprove.

The nationwide poll was conducted Jan. 11-15 with 1,110 adults, using landlines and cellphones, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points. More results from this poll will be released on NYTimes.com after 6:30 p.m.