Obama Has A Lot To Smile About

President Obama has had a lot to smile about recently. The people of the United States are still not happy about the economy and the lack of jobs, but they do seem to think the president is doing as well as he can considering the obstructionism of Congress. Recent polls showed that a majority of Americans approved of most of the president's proposals outlined in his State of the Union speech. They also approve of his payroll tax cut extension and his plan to offer all women free and easy access to contraceptives.

In other words, the president has been pushing the right political buttons lately. And this is beginning to show in the polls. Two new nationwide polls show the president's job approval rating has risen to 50% -- the highest it's been in several months. Here are the results of those two polls:

DO YOU APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF THE WAY BARACK OBAMA IS HANDLING HIS JOB AS PRESIDENT?

CNN/ORC POLL
Approve...............50%
Disapprove...............48%
No opinion...............2%

NEW YORK TIMES/CBS NEWS POLL
Approve...............50%
Disapprove...............43%
Don't know...............7%

This speaks very well for the president's chances of being re-elected, especially when compared to the approval ratings of his possible Republican opponents. Those Republicans have accused the president of everything except stealing candy from babies (and it's possible they've accused him of that and I just missed it). But their ridiculous over-the-top accusations seem to have done more damage to their own approval ratings than to the president.

A few months ago, I thought Willard Mitt Romney (aka Wall Street Willie) would be a formidable opponent for the president. I don't think that now. Wall Street Willie's negatives are now as high as those of the other Republican candidates. Here are their numbers:

NEW YORK TIMES/CBS NEWS POLL

Newt Gingrich
favorable...............16%
unfavorable...............54%
don't know...............30%

Ron Paul
favorable...............24%
unfavorable...............33%
don't know...............43%

Mitt Romney
favorable...............26%
unfavorable...............40%
don't know...............34%

Rick Santorum
favorable...............27%
unfavorable...............25%
don't know...............48%

With approval numbers this low from the general public, is it any wonder that the president beats all four in poll head-to-head match-ups?