Even though the job market has been improving, energy prices are a big concern that stares Americans in the face whenever they're at a gas pump. That could be bad news for Mr. Obama's reelection hopes, new polls suggest.

A Washington Post/ABC News poll, released Monday, tells one big part of the story: Disapproval of the president's handling of the economy stands at 59 percent of Americans, which the Post says is a record low on that issue for Obama.

A new Christian Science Monitor/TIPP poll, meanwhile, finds that a solid majority of the American public lines up with the Republican view that the United States should put more emphasis on expanding domestic energy production.