As 2013 nears its end, there are quite a few new polls out. And more so than usual, the question of how President Obama is doing depends quite a bit on which survey you’re inclined to believe.
Obama’s supporters will be pleased to learn that the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, the new Pew Research Center/USA Today poll, and Rasmussen’s tracking poll all show the president’s approval rating climbing.
Obama’s detractors will be pleased to learn that the latest polls from Quinnipiac, Bloomberg, and McClatchy-Marist show the president’s approval rating dropping.
As it turns out, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll offers a little something for both camps: the survey found Obama’s approval rating going up a little, but his disapproval rating went up a little, too.
What are we to make of all of this? Probably not too much. Obama’s popularity has slid since his re-election last year, but he’s at roughly the same point as two years ago. The widely condemned rollout of the Affordable Care Act didn’t do the president’s standing any favors — neither, by the way, did the public backlash against Washington in general during the government shutdown — but Obama appears to have largely weathered the storm, at least for now.
For what it’s worth, the White House probably finds at least some comfort in a separate aspect of the new data: the polls referenced above show congressional Republicans in far worse shape than the president.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."