The Netroots is out of touch, and apparently so are the majority of the American people

I enjoy articles like this. On their face, they make a lot of sense. But then, when you dig deeper, the entire thing falls apart.

To wit: New poll shows liberals really DO like President Obama. So his critics in the Netroots, and among progressive organizations in town, clearly don't know what they're talking about, and are clearly out of touch with real America, just like Robert Gibbs said!

Okay. Then if the President is so popular, and we're so out of touch, why is his approval rating stuck around 44%? (Check out how the pretty lines come together in one big bipartisan hug.)

Evidently, the Netroots is so out to lunch that our view of the President is consistent with the majority of the American people. Pretty fringe.

The White House can delude itself all it wants by pointing to these numbers, and you know they are. But if the folks at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue actually talked to people around the country, I think they'd find a lot more angst about this administration than the one set of rosy poll numbers are showing. And Gibbs' outburst today shows that they already know they have a problem.

In the end, there's a reason the President is at 44% in the polls, and we're about to lose the House. And it's not because everyone thinks the President is doing such a fine job.