Yglesias brings us this chart:
So when you hear Mark Halperin, Politico or Joe Scarborough concern-trolling about a short-term glitch and how it's ruining the Obama presidency, keep the above chart in mind.
Unemployment is almost certainly holding the president's approval numbers down, and rightfully so. It's time for another serious jobs bill and the president has to shelve any plans for deficit reduction in his first term. But to point to the gate crashers or Cheney's "dithering" attack as an indicator of the president's 50-ish approval is just near-sighted.