The Obama Rally?

President Obama should receive a rally of public approval in the face of the crisis with Russia.

A patriotic surge of approval for the president and commander-in-chief in a crisis is a common phenomenon in public opinion polling. Actual combat engagement in both Iraq wars was accompanied by major rallies for public approval for both Bushes.

G.W. Bush received a 90 percent Gallup recorded approval (up from 51% in August 2001) after the Twin Towers attack, much of which he held on to far into 2002.

But, Obama may not get the normal surge due to his current unpopularity, somewhat disconcerting for the country at the moment he is facing off with the most aggressive and dangerous Russian autocrat since Nikita Khrushchev.

Obama hasn’t seen a surge in support based on a foreign policy crisis or victory in his five years, except for a modest blip after the death of Osama bin Laden of about 6 points to 50 percent, which began fading immediately.

The Gallup chart shows his approval in January of each year of his term.

Obama’s strength has been less in governing and more in campaigning. He hit his highest recent approval rating of 57 percent in December 2012, immediately after his re-election.

Shortly after the inauguration, his numbers declined until the crash from Obamacare implementation when they hit a low of 40 percent.Today, he is at 43 percent approval.