OBAMA APPROVAL HOVERS AT 50% - AT 7:23 P.M. ET:  The latest Gallup tracker shows approval for President Obama at 50%, with disapproval at 43%.  The approval number pretty much corresponds with Rasmussen's findings, but Rasmussen has a higher disapproval number. 

A 50% approval is nothing to brag about, given the hype surrounding this administration and the near-religious zeal surrounding its victory last November.   It shows that even a god can lose favor.

The coming three months will be critical for the president.  There are off-year elections in November, which may be seen as a test of his political pull, especially in Virginia and New Jersey.  He will have a do-or-die moment over health care.  And his foreign policy, increasingly seen as weak and appeasement-oriented, will be tested, both in Afghanistan and Iran, not to mention North Korea.

It's harder than running for office.

October 6, 2009