POLL STUNNER - AT 9:43 A.M. ET:  This morning's daily Rasmussen tracker has some sobering news for the White House.  The gap between those who approve of Mr. Obama's performance and those who disapprove is at its narrowest point since inauguration.

Those who approve - 55%.  Disapprove - 45%.  That gap, ten points, was 35 points on January 21st.

Rasmussen's other measure, his presidential approval index, measures the gap between those who strongly approve and those who strongly disapprove.  It's now at three points.  On January 21st it was 28 points.

A word of caution:  Presidential approval is normally very high for a new president right after inauguration.  It's the honeymoon.  Approval tends to diminish over time.  The key question is how far down it goes.  This president has pulled out all stops to run a perpetual campaign, but it clearly hasn't stopped the erosion.

April 20, 2009