GALLUP BRINGS A FEW SMILES – AT 10:35 P.M. ET:   Ah, the ability of some good polls to enliven the day and make politics bearable.  Gallup reports that George W. Bush's approval rating is now higher than Barack Obama's.  Rehabilitation has quickly come.  From The Politico:

George W. Bush’s job approval rating as president has spiked to 47 percent, according to a Gallup poll released Monday.

That’s 1 point higher than President Barack Obama’s job approval rating in a poll taken the same week.

This is the first time Gallup asked Americans to retrospectively rate Bush’s job performance. And it was a stunning turnaround from his low point of 25 percent in November 2008. The 47 percent number is 13 points higher than the last Gallup poll taken before Bush left office in 2009 and the highest rating for him since before Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Clearly, Mr. Bush's recent appearances in connection with his new book have helped.  The contrast between the decisive Bush and the meandering Obama is substantial, and it's showing up in the numbers.

And there is this, also from Gallup:

Jimmy Carter’s job approval rating as president has nosedived during the past decade, according to a Gallup Poll released Monday.

Asked to reflect on his single term, only 52 percent of those surveyed approved of his performance — down from 61 percent in 2006 and 69 percent in 1999.

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Carter’s numbers collapsed among Republicans (down from 42 percent in 2006 to 34 percent in 2010) and independents (57 percent to 47 percent in the same period).

History has not been particularly kind to the former Democratic president, now linked in the American consciousness with malaise, stagflation and the relative decline of American power. He was defeated for reelection by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980.

Bush up, Carter down.  I will sleep soundly tonight, confident in the wisdom of the American people. 

December 6, 2010