Obama's approval stays high, most know he's not to blame for the economic mess and the country is slowly getting into a better mood

The latest poll from the Washington Post and ABC News shows a changing mood in the country. The number of people thinking we're heading in the right direction is on the move in a positive direction -- hitting levels that haven't been seen in five years. Obama's approval rating is holding strong, too. Seems that talking to the American people has been the right move. They know their president is on the job trying to fix the mess caused by others (people get that he's not to blame, too, which is good considering he's only been president for just over two months):

The number of Americans who believe that the nation is headed in the right direction has roughly tripled since Barack Obama's election, and the public overwhelmingly blames the excesses of the financial industry, rather than the new president, for turmoil in the economy, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

At this early stage in his presidency, Obama continues to benefit from a broadly held perception that others should bear the bulk of responsibility for the severe economic problems that confront his administration. Americans see plenty of offenders, but only about a quarter blame the president and his team for an economy that's in the ditch.

Despite the increasing optimism about the future, the nation's overall mood remains gloomy, and doubts are rising about some of the administration's prescriptions for the economic woes. Independents are less solidly behind Obama than they have been, fewer Americans now express confidence that his economic programs will work, barely half of the country approves of how the president is dealing with the federal budget deficit, and the political climate is once again highly polarized.

The percentage of Americans in the new poll who said the country is on the right track still stands at just 42 percent, but that is the highest percentage saying so in five years and marks a sharp turnabout from last fall, when as many as nine in 10 said the country was heading in the wrong direction. Fifty-seven percent now consider the nation as moving on the wrong track.

Yes, there is good news in the poll. But, Obama and the nation still have a long way to go. And, as noted, partisanship is shaping opinions. It's probably the very same people who stuck with George Bush don't like what Obama is doing. The Republicans let Bush destroy the economy. Obama is going to be judged on how he fixes it.