President Obama himself, who took to Wall Street on Monday to pitch his administration’s plans to overhaul the nation’s financial regulations, also gets a lukewarm 51 percent approval rating on dealing with the economy and an even lower assessment on his handling of the federal budget deficit (39 percent).

Continued high levels of concern about the downturn are taking a toll on the president’s ratings: Among those who say they are concerned about future job losses or pay cuts, Obama’s approval rating on handling the economy has dropped from 62 percent in February to 45 percent now, while it has remained steady among those who are less anxious…

The $787 billion dollar federal stimulus program enacted in February also gets middling reviews. In numbers little changed over the past few months, 52 percent see the package of outlays as already helping the economy, or think it will, while 46 percent say it will not.