When President Obama on Wednesday delivers one of his most important speeches to the nation, he will face an increasingly skeptical audience. For months, his job performance ratings in a variety of polls have reached record lows, including a new Washington Post-ABC News survey in which his overall approval rating is 42 percent.

And it gets worse: 52 percent said that Obama's presidency has been a failure and 39 percent of them said they strongly believe it's been a failure. In addition, 55 percent said he's done more to divide the nation than to unite it.

Although the president is in the midst of a foreign policy crisis, their discontent is largely due to his handling of the economy and jobs, which is their single most important election issue: 42 percent approve, while 54 percent disapprove. Despite the millions of Americans who have benefited from the Affordable Care Act, the law continues to be even more unpopular than the president. The poll found that 56 percent disapprove of how he handled its implementation, compared to 38 who said they approve, which was the same sentiment they expressed on his handling of international affairs.

Obama also took a big hit on immigration. The White House announced at the end of last week that he would not take any executive action on the issue until after the midterm election, infuriating immigration activists and Latino lawmakers. In the Post/ABC survey, 59 percent said they disapprove of the way he is handling immigration issues.

Congress did not fare better, with an overwhelming majority saying they disapprove of how both Democrats (61 percent) and Republicans (72 percent) are doing their job. Overall, Congress's disapproval rating is at 77 percent and just 45 percent said they approve of how their representatives are handling their jobs.

Follow Joyce Jones on Twitter: @BETpolitichick.

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(Photo: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)