A pair of polls offered differing signals regarding the American public's support for President Obama: The Marist Poll placed Obama's approval rating at 44% -- an Obama administration low -- Bloomberg News reported. The poll was conducted February 1-3, 2010. However, the Gallup Poll had Obama's approval rating holding steady at 50%, based on a three-day average ending February 8, 2010.

Even allowing for the fact that the approval for almost every president drops in Year 2 from Year 1, as noted earlier, President Obama's approval rating has entered the "area of concern."

Despite a deepening job slump and few signs that the recession that began in December 2007 is nearing an end, Americans have grown more optimistic about the U.S. economy and the country's direction in the 11 weeks since the inauguration of President Obama, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll shows.

Further, Americans approve of President Obama's handling of the economy, foreign policy, (wars in Iraq and Afghanistan), and two-thirds said they approved of his overall job performance.

I think Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) wants you to consider the deeper story behind George W. Bush being photographed wearing Crocs beach shoes. Does he think they're stylish? I don't suppose he gives much thought to style. Does he find them comfortable? If he was after strict comfort, a cross trainer from Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) would do a better job on pavement. Is he giving a friendly endorsement opportunity to his buddy Rick Sharp? That's probably the gist of it, but wait, there's more. Think just a little bit deeper to the true message that was sent by President Bush wearing those shoes.

The Crooks and Liars blog reports that President Bush's approval rating is at 29%, its lowest point ever. I don't put much stock in polls, I never did, and I never will. The reason being that no matter how unbiased a polling organization claims to be, poll numbers can be very easily manipulated. Even something as simple as the time of day that opinions are solicited can seriously change outcomes, but that's not what I want to bring to you.

The matter is simply this: If President Bush was as widely disliked as the left-wing, mainstream media would like you to believe he is, do you really think that Rick Sharp would have put those shoes on him? The wearing of Crocs by George W. Bush was as much an endorsement of that man by a hip and young company as it was an endorsement of those shoes. The leftist spin-meisters can tell you all they want about how the nation hates Bush, but the fact of the matter is this: A flourishing retailer doesn't generally present its product with the use of disliked individuals.

You didn't see Crocs on the feet of Jack Kevorkian as he left prison, did you?