STRANGE POLL RESULTS – AT 9:55 A.M. ET:  After a dip at the end of last week, President Obama is showing another bump upward in the Rasmussen poll.  But it's a bump created entirely by Democrats:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 33% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -8 (see trends).

This is the first time since February 4 that the President’s Approval Index rating has improved to negative single digits. It’s the first time since September 24 that the number who Strongly Approve has reached 33%.

The bounce in approval for the President has come from a strong increase in enthusiasm among Democrats. Currently, 65% of Democrats Strongly Approve of the way Obama is performing. That’s up from the mid-to-low 40 percent range before passage of the health care legislation.

However, firing up the Democratic base may also carry a cost for the President. Currently, just 19% of unaffiliated voters Strongly Approve while 45% Strongly Disapprove. Those numbers are a bit weaker for the President than they were before the health care bill passed.

COMMENT:  A polarizing president, obviously.  He cannot sustain himself politically with strength only among Democrats.  It was his appeal to independents and even some Republicans that gave Obama his major victory in 2008.  Against an effective GOP candidate in 2012, he may have rough sledding.  Of course, we have to find that effective GOP candidate.

March 31, 2010