Last week, when Gallup polling showed Barack Obama's approval rating falling to 56 percent, some thought it was an indication that the President was slipping, and badly. Well, four days later, President Obama's approval number is up 3 points and his disapproval rating is down 3 points, earning him a net 6-point increase in his overall approval rating.

Approve: 59 percent
Disapprove: 33 percent

Could the President's numbers be better? Yes -- and they have been. But considering the rather noticeable shift in coverage on the cable nets as of late, with the common wisdom settling on the notion that the administration is sinking, it's worth looking at the data to see that Barack Obama is faring better than his two most recent predecessors, and he remains a fairly popular President by recent standards.