I don’t think it’s just noise. His ratings are definitely up across most polls in 2016:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html
I suspect some of the increase may be due to Obama looking pretty good compared to the Republicans, and even compared to Clinton and Sanders. Even David Brooks, who rarely agreed with Obama’s policies, saidhe was going to miss Obama:
Brooks goes on to praise Obama’s thoughtful decision-making process, grace under pressure, optimism, and elegance.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that as the job market has improved, steadily, to practically full employment … we’re seeing metrics that nobody has ever heard of before (like “discouraged workers”) that serve only to cast a negative spin.
Romney promised to lower unemployment to under 6% by the end of his first term.
It is now 4.9% for the second month in a row.
Romneyblamed Obama for high gas prices of $3.80/gallon.
Current average is $1.81/gallon, so I guess Romney will give Obama credit for that, right?
I would guess that Obama’s popularity is because people have more money in their pockets, and things are even better now than the Republicans promised (if Romney had been elected)
Yet the Republicans are STILL trying to tell everyone how horrible it is. “Ignore that reality! Things are terrible!”
Man I want a Like button. 
Thanks for the links. I mentioned this stuff in another thread but was too lazy to find them.
Add to that that we almost have energy independence (not quite, I think) and that inflation, which was supposed to soar due to the deficits is still very low.
If you predicted where we are in 2008 or even 2012, Fox News would call you a liar. Republican heads should be exploding now.
Those qualities have been in evidence ever since Obama first came on the national stage. The mystery to me is how it took a sensible person like Brooks so long to see them? And of course, why do some not see them even now?
I think there are some people who just needed the contrast of how awful things could actually be.
This last week I’ve had two different hardcore Republicans comment that given the choices they see in 2016 they wish Obama could run for a third term so they would have someone decent to vote for.
This is just the break the Obama campaign needs!
If only…
It’s heartening to hear of hardcore Republicans coming to their senses, but still, it took the equivalent of a hammer blow to the head to make them see it.
And with the excuse of the Evil Hillary to not actually, you know, vote Democratic.
There’s always an excuse.
In the spring of 2024, the same people will finally get around to admitting that Hillary has really been a pretty good President. While believing all of their own side’s propaganda about how terrible the likely 2024 Dem nominee is.
He hasn’t done anything lately.
Regards,
Shodan
OK, this is the funniest thing I’ve heard all week. It’s got to be the punch line to a joke:
“Well, Obama ordered bin Laden captured, Inflation is low, unemployment is at an 8 year record low, Gas prices are down, local terrorist attacks have been stymied, troops are no longer arriving home in body bags, the economy is doing great and more people than ever have health insurance.”
“Ya, but what has he done for us lately?”
(cue laugh track)
Well, lately he HAS been trying to appoint a Supreme Court Justice, but the Republicans say he’s not allowed to, for some strange, unconstitutional reasons.
Honestly, I think it’s because due to the current crop of presidential candidates from both parties (with the possible exception of Clinton), people are already bracing themselves with nostalgia goggles that the golden age is over and it’s all down hill from here. 
Apropos, I think, is a little chart from this week’s *Economist *(couldn’t find a link) that shows the percentage of Americans calling themselves “conservative,” “moderate,” or “liberal,” from 1992 to 2016. The conservative line begins and ends at 37% – BUT it makes a big jump up to 40% right after Obama is elected, and has taken seven years to get down to its usual level.
It’s hard to not assume there’s some racism showing up in this. It’s like a bunch of people thought, “Oh, a black president! The world’s about to end! I’ll be conservative now.” Subsequently, each year more of these people think, “hmmm…the world didn’t end after all! I guess I’ll go back to being a moderate (or even a liberal).”
Mostly the thought processes of the right-wing interneterati* seems to go:
-
The news are reporting that unemployment has continued to fall to low levels.
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If true, that would mean Obama is a good president.
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Obama is not a good president, therefore those numbers can’t be true.
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I will instead assert that actual unemployment is , based on the anal extraction method of data analysis.
I saw one guy recently asserting unemployment was really at 40%, which requires a spectacular amount of ignorance at what a country with 40% unemployment would look like.
Back on topic: I agree that it’s a combination of the Firehoses of Bullshit being turned elsewhere during campaign season (mostly at Clinton, Sanders and Trump), and people noticing that compared to all the alternatives to vote for in November Obama actually looks properly presidential.
*by which I mean the doofuses in various comments sections across the web, not the (mostly) erudite conservative posters on this fine messageboard.
Like start a needless war. Lame duck or what, right?
This is just a hunch, but I have a feeling that there’s a few things that presidents do behind the scenes that don’t fit the criteria for breaking news. But because they aren’t reported, I guess we can just assume that he’s off playing golf and basketball all day.
(I know that was a fun bit of harmless trolling on your part, and well played:), but I wanted to take the opportunity to answer Obama haters who actually think that.)
ditto; Trump is helping make Obama look great!
37 posts and not a mention of the ACA … so it’s not a positive and not a negative?
“Make Obama Look Great Again”
It’s not current. Obama’s approval is up within the past few months; the ACA has been around for years now. Unless there’s some reason for people to change their view of the ACA recently (there might be, but nobody’s proposed one), it can’t account for the shift.