President Barack Obama may be grappling with the fiscal cliff and the fallout from intelligence failures in Libya, but his standing with the public is better than it has been in several months.
According to a new USA Today/Gallup poll, 58 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the president, which is up 3 points from right before the election. It’s the highest rating Obama has had since July of 2009.
Gallup also finds that only 40 percent disapprove of the president, his lowest rating on the negative end since the beginning of 2010.
Even the right-leaning Rasmussen reported a solid bump for the president; they give him a 54 percent approval rating.
Democrats are also benefiting from Obama’s improved footing. Fifty-one percent of Americans now approve of the party, which is a 6-point jump from before the election.
Only time will tell if the president can convert his recent resurgence in popularity to real political capital.