President Obama's approval rating drops 9 points in one month

POLITICO's Josh Gerstein has an always appropriate headline this morning "What if George W. Bush had done that?" examining the latest pro-Obama administration double-standard in media coverage and left-wing reaction to the president's policy of assassinating U.S. citizens abroad, fundraising and swing state travel, closed-door CEO courting, punishment of leakers, and golf habits.

The lack of attention and hush-hush around President Obama's latest, dismal to say the least, approval rating, follows a similar narrative. CBS News on President Obama's nine point approval rating drop:

"President Obama's approval rating has hit the lowest level ever in CBS News polling, according to the latest CBS News/New York Times survey. The drop may be partially attributable to rising gas prices.

Just 41 percent of Americans approve of the job Mr. Obama is doing as president, according to the poll, conducted from March 7 to 11. Another 47 percent disapprove of his performance, up from 41 percent last month.

Mr. Obama's approval rating was 50 percent last month.

The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped 12 cents over the past two weeks. The poll found that most Americans, 54 percent, believe gas prices are something a president can do a lot about."

At about the same point in his Presidency, Gallup showed George W. Bush's approval rating was not much better, but during the vast majority of Bush's first term his approval rating was well over 50 percent. Obama has been over 50 percent only once since May 2010.

The CBS poll released Tuesday found Obama's job rating on the economy remained about the same as it was last month - 39 percent approve, while 54 percent disapprove. Thirty percent said the economy is getting better; 24 percent say it is getting worse. CBS report that just 20 percent of Americans feel their family's financial situation is better today than it was four years ago. Another 37 percent say it is worse, and 43 percent say it is about the same. In addition to floundering on the economy, Obama's rating on foreign policy has dropped 10 points.

The New York Times reported their poll as "Obama's Rating Falls as Poll Reflects Volatility:"

"The poll provides a statistical reminder of how unsettled and unpredictable this year’s political landscape remains. "

The Times went on to paint this rosy picture for what the poll indicated concerning Americans' feelings about the economy:

"Americans are still expressing confidence that the economy is staying the same or getting better, with those who believe that outnumbering those who view the economy as getting worse by nearly three to one. (Then again, 75 percent view the nation’s financial picture as “fairly bad” or “very bad.”)

Mr. Obama appears to be retaining much of his gains among important demographic groups, erasing inroads that Republicans made in 2010, especially among women. "

Some on MSNBC's Morning Joe crew Tuesday also seemed unalarmed by the poll results.  After co-host Wille Geist read the jarring poll results, Democratic former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell responded "I think the first thing this teaches us, Willie, is basically to ignore polls. "

"Pay little attention to them at this point in time," Mike Barnicle went on to say.

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