So much promise, shot to hell ?

According to this article, Obama's job approval rating is 58 percent in the latest Gallup poll. This is the below the average of all presidents since Eisenhower at the six-month point in their first terms. I'm not sure what the blog article is implying, but it seems to be saying that if historical trends hold, Obama will finish his presidency with job approval of 58 percent or less. This is presented as a "warning" to Obama. Really ?

Obama is the nation's first mulatto president, and took office in the early stages of what some people have described as the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression. So maybe there are factors working in this situation that indicate it won't be business as usual. The article also mentions that Obama's job approval is the same as Richard Nixon's and one point higher than George W. Bush's at their six month points. Okay, W. is the worst president in history and Nixon was the worst until W., but both were elected to second terms. Maybe that's the precedent Republicans should actually be worried about.

Added 10:46 am, same day: On the topic of polls, here's one of the best I've seen lately. This is an online poll sponsored by a radical right-wing website, showing 78 percent of those responding would support S. Palin's run for president in 2012. An interesting coincidence is that 81 percent of those participating in the poll voted for McCain and Wondermom in 2008. Random sampling ? Newsmax plans to release the findings of their poll to major media organizations; that should be good for a week's worth of headlines as the Palin juggernaut is launched, and a lot of deluded chatter on AM radio.

Added 4:09 pm, same day: More poll palaver here. Rich Lowry of NRO brings back memories. There was a time only a few years ago when I spent part of nearly every day scrounging around the internet for updated polls showing W's newest job approval rating. Every time he dropped a few points my heart soared, and when he edged back up a few points (as he almost always did), I'd be disgusted the rest of the day. That's how life is when you can't stomach the president and are convinced he's not legitimately occupying the White House. In 2004 I learned the hard way that job approval ratings don't necessarily predict election outcomes, and by the time W settled more or less permanently into the 34 percent range (beloved only by the lowest of the bottomfeeders), the damage was already beyond repair. Anyway, I enjoy watching conservatives going through all the same rituals of despair that I practiced back then.