Rasmussen Reports:

Friday December 23, 2005--Fifty percent (50%) of American adults approve of the way George W. Bush is performing his role as President. That's up six points since the President's speech on Sunday night.

It's also the first time since July that the President's Job Approval has reached the 50% mark. He earns approval from 81% of Republicans, 23% of Democrats, and 42% of those not affiliated with either major political party.

It's dangerous to read too much into the Rasmussen polls, because for the past few months it has shown Bush's approval has bumped up, bit by bit, for a few days, tops out, and then drops right back down to the 43-percent approval range. But this time Bush's gains have followed a steady month of progress in Iraq, a steady month of speeches and engagement with the American public on the war effort, and some self-inflicted wounds by his opponents.