OBAMA GAINS IN RASMUSSEN POLL – VIEW WITH CAUTION – AT 9:33 A.M. ET:  President Obama registers a rare bounce in the Rasmussen poll.  View the numbers with caution, however.  This poll was taken over a holiday weekend, which may not yield the most accurate results.  Also, the president might have gotten a brief bounce after the airline terror incident, a "rally round the chief" effect.  That is speculation.  We'll have to watch the polling as we exit out of the holiday spirit:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 28% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -12.

He was -21 just six days ago.

Overall, 47% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. That’s the first time in more than two weeks the President’s overall approval has topped 46%. Fifty-two percent (52%) now disapprove of the President’s performance.

That's a six-point gap.  But it was 12 points six days ago.

COMMENT:  The wild swing, and the holiday disruption, makes us emphasize, once again, that these are tentative figures.  The president will not be coming back to a Washington that is happy or optimistic.  Severe challenges await him, especially internationally, but domestically as well. 

And if a terror attack is successful?  No one knows the impact that would have on a president who promised us peace in our time.

Bah, humbug!

December 28, 2009