OBAMA RESULTS MIXED IN NEW FOX POLL – AT 7:17 P.M. ET:  President Obama's approval rating has gone up slightly in a new Fox poll, but Americans are expressing some annoyance at his style:

Most American voters think it is time for the Obama administration to start taking responsibility for the way things are going in the country.

A Fox News poll released Thursday finds 66 percent of voters think President Obama should start taking responsibility. That’s more than three times as many as the 21 percent who think it’s right to continue to blame the Bush administration for the way things are going today.

Democrats are divided: 42 percent think Obama should step up, while 40 percent say he should continue to blame Bush.

President Obama’s job approval rating improved this week and now stands at 46 percent, up from a record low of 43 percent approval in early April. An equal number of voters disapprove of the job President Obama is doing (46 percent).

A year ago, 62 percent of Americans approved and 29 percent disapproved of the president’s job performance (22-23 April 2009).

By 46-37 percent, more voters think President Obama is keeping most of the promises he made during the campaign.

While most Democrats (73 percent) think the president is keeping most of his promises, about one in 10 think he is breaking his promises (12 percent). Slightly more independents think the president is breaking most of his promises (39 percent) than keeping most (36 percent).

COMMENT:  While some of the president's numbers have improved, he still ranks very low.  These are not reelection numbers.

At the same time, the GOP is not exactly glowing, and there isn't a presidential candidate in the GOP stable who looks like he or she could easy defeat Obama in 2012.

Obama has been a major disappointment in his first year, but can come fighting back, especially as the media will fight on his side.  Don't put any victories in the bank.

April 22, 2010