President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party are in a problematic political position with less than eight months to go before November's midterm elections, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Obama’s job-approval rating has dropped to 41 percent and Republicans hold a one-point edge over Democrats when it comes to which party voters prefer to control Congress, 44 percent to 43 percent. Although that lead is within the poll’s margin of error, Republicans have fared well in elections in the past when they’ve had a slight lead on the question. In addition, many top Senate contests in 2014 will happen in states Obama lost in 2012. Still, Obama’s favorable/unfavorable numbers (41 percent/44 percent) in the poll are better than the Republican Party’s (27 percent/45 percent).
