Findings: Rick Santorum has gone from 3 percent support among likely New Hampshire voters in December to 13 percent after his for-all-intents tie with Romney in Iowa.

Pollster: Rasmussen

Methodology: Robo-calls to 750 likely Republican voters in the New Hampshire primary on January 5.

Why it matters: Santorum doesn't have much time win over conservative voters as the alternative to Romney. Worse, there aren't that many to win over -- only a third of voters say they haven't made up their minds. A 7NEWS/ Suffolk University poll shows Santorum with 11 percent, and finds just 15 percent haven't made up their minds. A Washington Times poll puts him at 11 percent, too, with only 10 percent undecided. And as Gallup's Jeffrey M. Jones writes, the Republican candidate leading nationally after the New Hampshire primary is often the winner. Pat Buchanan, who once was an alternative to the establishment candidate himself, says it's over, The Hill reports.

Caveat: The poll shows Santorum has some momentum after Iowa, even though his social conservatism isn't expected to play as well in New Hampshire.

Findings: Obama's approval rating is 45 percent, while 46 percent disapprove.

Pollster: Gallup

Methodology: Telephone interviews of about 1,500 adults over the last three days.

Why it matters: In late December, this poll showed Obama above water -- a higher number of people approving than disapproving -- for the first time in months, after he got Republicans to agree to an extension of the payroll tax holiday. At the time, we wondered whether it was a blip. The answer looks like: No. Ish. Obama's approval rating dropped again, but hit 46 percent approving Thursday. Those two polls are his highest approval scores since the summer, Gallup says. The pollster suggests one reason for the increase could be Americans' improving confidence in the economy. New York's Jonathan Chait writes that the improving economy -- 200,000 jobs added in December and a small drop in unemployment -- means it might be time to reassess whether Obama's doomed to lose in 2012.

Caveat: While his approval rating is better, Americans are definitely not throwing Obama a ticker-tape parade just yet.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

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