Obama's Approval Ratings - Still Under 50%

Sunday was the beginning of the one-year countdown to the 2012 presidential election. A CNN "Poll of Polls" released yesterday reveals that Obama's approval rating is still under 50%. According to this Poll, 45% of Americans approve of the way Obama has done his job and 51% disapprove. Though these ratings do not predict next year's election, they are useful in determining Obama's chances in next year's election. Just because 51% of Americans don't approve of Obama, that doesn't mean that those 51% of Americans are going to vote for the Republican candidate next year. They are more likely to either stay at home on election day or vote for a third-party candidate. This "Poll of Polls" is an average of three national polls taken from Gallup, ABC/Washington Post, and Reuters/Ipsos. Some reasons his approval rating might be so low are the slow-to-recover economy and the repeated standoffs with Congress. Having a Republican-led House of Representatives is not helping Obama. Will Obama be able to bring his approval ratings up before next year's election or will they remain below 50%?