Only Popular If You Win

True for sports teams, and for presidents.

The Rasmussen Reports daily tracking poll of President Bush's popularity pegs him with a 41 percent approval rating. Interestingly, that is also the percentage of those polled who believe the United States is winning the war on terror.

And perhaps most interesting of all, the percentage of those polled who think America had changed for the better has steadily marched downward since the aftermath of 9/11. In October 2001 57 percent said America had changed for the better. In September 2006, that number is just 21 percent—a complete reversal.

Blame high gas prices or the moon phase, but that is a big shift toward a negative outlook.