Obama's approval ratings down

...by six points since the inauguration. Nate Silver draws three lessons:

1. Republicans have nothing to lose. Public perceptions of Congressional Republicans are also significantly down from their already-low levels since the stimulus debate began. But, the Republicans will gladly torpedo their own brand if it means taking Obama down with them. They are dangerous to him, in the way that a gang of rabid velociraptors is dangerous to a T-Rex.

2. Obama has to do the heavy lifting himself. Support for the stimulus dwindled when the Congressional Demorcats, who are not much more popular than their Republican colleagues, were charged with the job of selling it. The more Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are the faces of the Democratic Party, the more Barack Obama's approval ratings will come to resemble those of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

3. The benefits of "bipartisanship" are dubious. The public says they want bipartisanship, and a large majority of the public believes that Obama acted in a bipartisan fashion during the stimulus debate. And yet, his approval ratings fell significantly during this period.

There are, obviously, a lot of factors to keep in balance here, but more than anything else the public seems to be seeking strong leadership from Obama; they don't want him to be deferential to either Congressional Democrats or Congressional Republicans.

I agree with #1.

#2 makes political sense, however Obama has pledged to treat Congress as the co-equal branch of government that it should be. He's been a legislator and constitutional professor for a long time, and respects the process -- messy though it may be. He does not want to play the role of benevolent dictator/emperor.

#3 I'm not sure how to thread the needle on. His pragmatic openness to ideas is something he should definitely preserve, but given #1 I haven't seen signs of the Republican rump acting in good faith.