Lame-duck Congress turned things around. Some good, some bad. All surprising...
Obama mid-term bashing pay off?
Forty-eight percent of people questioned in the poll say they approve of the job Obama's doing in the White House, with an equal amount saying they disapprove of how he's handling his duties.
As for the liberal exodus,
The president's approval rating among self-described liberals dropped from 79 percent in November to 72 percent [in December].
Ouch! I mean, ow. CNN.
The poll also indicates that 55 percent of the public thinks Obama's policies will move the country in the right direction, with just over four in ten saying the president's policies will move the nation in the wrong direction. Obama's 55 percent is 11 points higher than the 44 percent who say the policies of congressional Republican leaders will move the country in the right direction. Americans are split at 48 percent on whether what congressional Democrats are proposing will move the country along the right path.
I suppose the midterm and the lame-duck session split the population, roughly back to those pre-election months of mid '08. President Obama will next meet a GOP house high on intentions of replaying the last two years, in a destructive mode over the creative.
Anyhow, for all the discontent here over Obama, I don't really see it in the polls. Liberals support him overwhelmingly; the base is still there. He's gained moderates, if anything, over the past few weeks. Next year will be interesting -- Obama will have to track left to protect his accomplishments. But we also have Cuts Demanded by the booming elites. Brace yourselves, anyhow. The next election starts in January.