As President Obama is set to start his second and final term in office, Americans broadly support both the way he has handed his presidency to date and the agenda he has for the second term, according to a recent poll released on Thursday.

The recent poll shows that 52% of American adults approved of the overall performance of the president and 49% approve of how he has handled the economy to date.

As far as his agenda for his second term initiatives, Obama enjoys majority support on gun control as 56% of the people surveyed said they support tougher restrictions on firearm sales, versus only 42% who want the status quo or even fewer gun control restrictions.

On immigration, one topic Obama said on Monday would be an integral part of his push during the second term, 52% said they favored allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for some form of legal status. That result was the first time in the history of the poll that 50% or more favored a way for immigrants to gain legal status.

As for the debt ceiling and budget cuts, 45% said they would put the blame on Republicans in Congress if the nation were to enter default. In contrast, on 33% said congressional Democrats and the President would be at fault if the same were to happen.

The White House however, must pause to consider that 51% described themselves as optimistic, while nearly the same percentage 48% described themselves as being pessimistic or uncertain. Forty-three percent said they were optimistic about the following four years of Obama’s presidency and 35% said they were pessimistic.