Early in his presidency, Barack Obama had a grace period when the public saw the nation’s problems as ones he inherited, but two new polls -- by New York Times/CBS News and Wall Street Journal/NBC News - make clear that there are rising concerns about his policies.

The biggest public concern is over the size of the deficit being run up by Obama’s economic recovery proposals and how much more it will rise if his plan to overhaul health care and increase coverage for uninsured Americans is enacted. But there is also discomfort about his intervention in the auto industry and taking a big government stake in ownership of General Motors. And voters also disagree with Obama on closing Guantánamo.

On these issues, the new polls track with surveys done by Gallup. Gallup found strong job approval ratings for Obama in a late May poll but disapproval of his handling of the federal deficit and controlling federal spending. A Gallup poll conducted June 9-10 found a majority disapproving of the government’s investing in GM. Gallup said that voters opposed closing Guantánamo by more than a 2-to-1 margin.

Republicans have sensed a chink in Obama’s armor on the issue of the deficit and government spending, but at the same time, the Times/CBS News poll and the Wall Street Journal/NBC News finds no love for the GOP. In the Times/CBS survey, voters view the Republican party unfavorably by a 2-to-1 margin, and the Wall Street Journal/NBC poll has a result that is close to that.

New York Times/CBS News poll

The rubber is meeting the road in Obama’s presidency. While his job approval ratings remain high, Americans are focusing in on his policies and a substantial number are concerned with the way his recovery and other major proposals are expanding the deficit, according to this poll conducted June 12-16.

The poll found that support for his proposals on a range of issues - health care, rescuing the auto industry and closing Guantánamo - fall short of his general job approval ratings.

The public now believes by 52 percent to 41 percent that reducing the budget deficit outweighs stimulating the economy. In May, Americans were almost evenly divided on that question. By a 2-to-1 margin, those polled say the Obama administration has not developed a clear plan for dealing with the deficit.

Obama’s job approval ratio stands at 63 percent to 26 percent, but his approval ratings on specific issues are lower. Approval for the way Obama is handling the economy is 57 percent to 35 percent, a net 15 points lower. On health care, Obama’s approval ratio is 44 percent to 34 percent with 22 percent in the “don’t know” category. Forty-six percent disapprove of the way he has intervened in the auto industry compared to 41 percent who approve. Forty-five percent believe the U.S. should continue to operate the prison at Guantánamo while 42 percent favor closing it, as Obama has said he intends to do.

Forty-eight percent say Obama’s policies have not had any effect yet on the economy, with 32 percent saying they have improved the economy and 15 percent saying they have made it worse.

The poll numbers on Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor are pretty meaningless since 58 percent are either undecided or haven’t heard enough about her to form an opinion.

Americans have an unfavorable view of the Republican party by 58 percent to 28 percent. They favorably view the Democrats by 57 percent to 32 percent.

NBC/Wall Street Journal poll

Obama is starting to move out of his “charismatic and charming leader” phase with the public to judgments on how he is handling challenges facing the country, with concerns growing about the budget deficit and the extent of government intervention into the economy. The poll was conducted June 12 -15.

Fifty-eight percent of those polled said Obama and Congress should focus on keeping the deficit down even if it slows economic recovery. Sixty-nine percent said they had concerns about federal intervention in the economy whether it was taking an ownership stake in General Motors, limiting executive compensation or getting more involved in health care. Thirty percent did not share that level of concern. Today, the Obama administration took that a step further with its proposal for broader regulation of the financial system.

Obama’s approval rating fell from a 61 percent to 30 percent ratio in April, to 56 percent to 34 percent, a net drop of nine points. Americans approve of his handling of the economy by 51 percent to 38 percent, a net drop of five points since April. On foreign policy, his approval rating is 54 percent to 36 percent, a net shift of 7 points to the negative.

Forty-six percent are extremely or quite confident that Obama has the right set of goals and policies to improve the economy, compared to 53 percent who are only somewhat confident or not confident at all.

The number of people thinking the economy will improve in the next 12 months rose from 38 percent in April to 46 percent, although the public still believes the economy to be in awful shape. Eighty-seven percent said they are dissatisfied with the state of the economy.

On health care, the public splits 33 percent to 32 percent on whether Obama’s proposal is a good or bad idea, but perhaps the more significant figure is that 30 percent don’t have an opinion about it, suggesting the difficulty in understanding the complexity of the issue. There is also an almost even split about whether the health care priority should be addressing the costs or taking care of people who have no coverage.

Asked how important respondents felt it was to have a public plan health coverage plan administered by the federal government in addition to private plans, 76 percent said it was extremely or quite important. But support dropped when read pro and con arguments about the wisdom of a public plan. Forty-seven percent said a public plan would help lower costs and provide health care for All Americans, while 42 percent believed it would limit access to doctors and medical treatment options.

Other findings:

• Former Vice President Dick Cheney is viewed unfavorably by 48 percent to 26 percent.

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is viewed unfavorably by 46 percent to 24 percent with 17 percent “neutral” and 13 percent not knowing her name, or unsure.

• The Republican Party is viewed unfavorably by 44 percent to 25 percent, an all-time low for it in the poll.

• The Democratic Party is viewed unfavorably by 47 percent to 45 percent.

• Conservative radio talk host Rush Limbaugh is viewed unfavorably by 50 percent to 23 percent with 17 percent “neutral.”

And, on actions taken by Obama so far, the survey said:

• By a 48-41 percent margin, Americans favor eliminating procedures like waterboarding to get information from terrorists.

• Fifty-two percent oppose closing Guantanamo Bay while 39 percent favor it.

• Fifty-six percent oppose giving financial aid to General Motors, in exchange for the federal government obtaining a stake in it while 35 percent favor it.