Americans are coming around on Obama

For today's reminder that political headwinds can change on a dime, consider President Obama's approval rating. Or, more specifically, consider that it has rebounded from last fall's record lows and is creeping back toward positive territory.

Obama's approval rating stands at 46 percent in the latest Gallup tracking poll, just a smidge less than the 48 percent of adults who disapprove of the president's job performance. Though that's still a net negative split, it's far better than Obama was doing late last year when polls routinely found him with double-digit deficits; one CBS poll pegged Obama's approval/disapproval split at 37/57 percent.

Other polls have shown a similar trend emerging.

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So what changed? For one, ObamaCare has gone from a careening disaster to a feel-good success, with more than 8 million people signing up for health insurance. And we're also further away from October's disastrous government shutdown, which dragged down the approval ratings of pretty much everyone in Washington.

It's the first bit that is most salient to Democrats as they head into the midterms. Republicans have been counting on Obama and ObamaCare to be less popular than the plague come November in hopes it will weigh down Democratic candidates. They may need a new plan. Polls have shown voters warming up to the health care law, and if they keep warming to the president, too, that could shred part of the GOP's campaign strategy.