Obama Approval on Iraq Jumps a Net 16 Points

Go figure. The President gives a speech that follows through on a promise to end America's combat role in Iraq, and his approval rating jumps -- both on the issue of Iraq, and more broadly.

Taking a look at the latest CNN polling, now available from Pollingreport.com, Barack Obama's approval rating on the issue of Iraq has shown marked improvement in the past month in a half, increasing from an even 49 percent approval/49 percent disapproval spread to a significantly better 57 percent approval/41 percent disapproval spread. This reflects a net 16-point improvement on this measure in about six weeks.

President Obama's overall numbers have improved as well (though not as noticeably), moving from negative territory in last month's polling (47 percent approval/51 percent disapproval) back into positive territory this month (50 percent approval/49 percent disapproval) -- a net 5-point improvement in one month. Coupled with Gallup polling also showing real upward movement in the President's approval rating since August, these numbers strongly suggest that predictions of the Democrats' and President's demise may have been a bit hasty.