2:05 PM -- Today's good-news/bad-news comes from Public Policy Polling:

After seeing his approval rating drop since May in PPP's national surveys, Barack Obama has actually made a slight recovery in the August version, with his approval rating increasing from 50% to 52%...

Obama's improvement isn't a reflection of support for his health care plan though. 47% of voters say they oppose it with just 40% in favor. One poll question indicative of how difficult it is to gain public understanding on a complicated issue asked if respondents thought the government should 'stay out of Medicare,' something inherently impossible. 39% said yes.

Only 62% of respondents reported believing that Obama was born in the United States. 10% thought he was born in Indonesia, 7% thought he was born in Kenya, 1% thought he was born in the Philippines, and 20% weren't sure. Among Republicans 44% think he was not born here while just 36% believe he was.

"Barack Obama's in a slightly better situation than he was a month ago," said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling...

Sure, all well and good for him... But what the hell are the rest of us doing in this handbasket?

— Larry, Attack Monkey, Light Reading