I think this paragraph helps illustrate why we shouldn’t get too excited about minute movements in the president’s approval rating:

While ratings for Obama’s handling of a potential government shutdown are favorable, with 54 percent saying they approve of how he handled negotiations (45 percent disapprove), his overall ratings have dropped in recent weeks. In mid-March, his approval rating was 51 percent and his disapproval rating was 47 percent. This weekend, his approval in the CNN poll had fallen to 48 percent and his disapproval had climbed to 50 percent.

We like what he just did! But we like him less than we did before!

If you average the major pollsters out, as RealClearPolitics does, Obama enjoyed a slight bump at the beginning of the year but is now once again close to 50-50, perhaps slightly underwater. In the RCP average, Obama’s approval rating has been between the mid-40s and 51 percent since November 2009. America’s not thrilled with him, but they haven’t turned against him in the manner the critics want to see.