The recently released AP-GfK poll, which shows Republicans leading by 7 points (50 to 43 percent) on the generic congressional ballot, asks voters whether they “approve” or “disapprove” of “the way Barack Obama is handling” various issues.  To say the least, the results aren’t good for the Obama administration and, by extension, the Democratic Party.

On “health care,” on which a whopping 76 percent of likely voters feel “strongly” in one way or the other about President Obama’s performance — by far the highest tally among any of the issues (the federal budget deficit was the runner-up, at 65 percent) — only 27 percent “strongly approve” of the president’s actions, while 49 percent “strongly disapprove” of them.  A 22-point deficit on one’s signature issue heading into an election is rarely a good thing.