<p>For the first time in almost two and a half years, slightly more than half of Americans approve of the job that President Barack Obama is doing, according to the results of a new <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-regains-majority-job-approval-gop-infighting-dysfunction/story?id=34575953">ABC News/Washington Post poll</a> released Monday afternoon. But Americans' slightly better views of the president do not translate to equal love for Congress.</p><p>Obama's job approval rating is now at 51 percent, a six-point jump from the same survey in July, and an 11-point boost from the same point last year, when just 40 percent said they approved of the job he is doing.</p><p>The president also won a majority of approval for his decision to keep troops in Afghanistan past the previously announced 2016 deadline, with 50 percent supporting and 39 percent opposed.</p><p>On the other hand, just 35 percent of Americans thought Democratic lawmakers are doing a good job compared to 59 percent who do not, and just 24 percent approved of their Republican counterparts while 71 percent did not, with both numbers roughly in line with recent years' polling.</p><p>Among Republicans, a majority said they did not approve of their own party's lawmakers in Congress, 51 percent to 47 percent.