Not only has President Obama's approval rating inched up to 50% in the new Reuters/Ipsos Poll, he also....
trounces the Republican contenders head to head:
In a survey of registered voters, Obama led Romney 52 to 41 percent in a head-to-head match-up, nearly double the margin from February. Obama led Santorum 52 to 42 percent, and Gingrich 54 to 37 percent.
And it really doesn't seem to matter which nominee he would be facing, unless it is Gingrich, who would receive one of the most resounding electoral spankings ever seen in U.S. presidential races.
What's driving these encouraging numbers?
Reuters thinks it is a mix of the improving economy having an impact and the poor quality of the potential Republican nominees:
But for most Americans, other economic trends during the past month have been relatively positive. Obama appears to be benefiting from that, and perhaps from a bitter Republican presidential campaign that at times has focused on divisive social issues such as abortion.
"The economy is improving," said Ipsos pollster Cliff Young. "Not by leaps and bounds but people feel that things are getting better." The Reuters/Ipsos poll also found that Americans' confidence in the direction of the country is ticking upward. In the poll, 37 percent of those surveyed said the United States is headed in the right direction, up from 32 percent in February.
http://www.reuters.com/...