Admittedly, it was a fleeting attempt, but hey at least ABC News tried [emphasis added]:

Fifty percent of Americans in this ABC News/Washington Post poll approve of the president's work overall, down 6 points in the last month; nearly as many, 46 percent, now disapprove. On the economy, 52 percent disapprove, a majority for the first time. On the deficit, his worst score, 56 percent disapprove.

Such numbers aren't unexpected; Ronald Reagan, in similar economic straits, dropped to 52 percent overall approval at this point in his presidency.

I've been making this point for weeks now and it's nice to see some journalists take note: despite the exaggerated rhetoric and non-stop hand-wringing about Obama's supposed poll collapse in recent months, his approval ratings remains almost identical to Ronald Reagan's 11 months into his first term.

Yes, that's the same Ronald Reagan who conservatives and most journalists considered to be one of the most successful presidents of the last half century. But boy, you read Obama's clips and he's not Ronald Reagan II, he's already Jimmy Cater II. Funny, how the 'liberal media' puts things in context.

And speaking of context, ABC News actually gets it a bit wrong with its Reagan reference. ABC News tries to suggest that at this point in his presidency, Reagan was already reeling in the polls due to an awful economy. That's not quite right. At this point in his presidency, Reagan was doing fine (he was viewed as a success) because prior to Obama's arrival in the White House, the D.C. press corps never considered a 50 percent job approval rating to be a failure. In previous administrations, a 50 percent approval ratings was considered a good thing. But not for Obama. The press has simply created a new standard for Obama. I mean c'mon, the press corps didn't actually get up the nerve to label George W. Bush's presidency a failure until his approval rating cratered deep into the 30's. But for some reason with Obama, 50 percent is the new demarcation line. (He's suddenly in "thin air" territory.)

And for the record, Reagan's 52 percent approval rating in December, 1981, did not reflect the difficulties he faced due to a poor economy. That came in 1982 and 1983, when Reagan's approval rating plunged to 35 percent. (Sort of like Bush did.)

But remember, according to today's press accounts, a 50 percent approval rating for Obama (for the Democrat!) is a disaster.