As predicted, President Obama's approval ratings have gone up substantially since the killing of Osama bin Laden." According to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, 57 percent of adults say that they now approve of the president's performance, up from 46 percent last month. 61 percent approve of the way Obama is handling the situation in Afghanistan, 72 percent approve of the way Obama is handling terrorism, and 52 percent approve of the way he is handling foreign policy writ large. On each count, these numbers are a significant improvement over his standing last month.
Of course, Obama should enjoy the popularity while it lasts, which -- if the past is any indication -- should be about 22 weeks:
Once these numbers return to Earth, Obama should begin to worry about the other result from the Times poll: Only 34 percent of Americans approve of his performance as it relates to the economy, which is down from where it was in April. If this continues, Obama could kill all the terrorists in the world, and it might not matter to his re-election chances.
