President Barack Obama is experiencing an approval bounce in the wake of the Newtown, Conn,. shooting tragedy, according to a new poll from Gallup.

The president received a 56 percent approval rating Dec. 17-19 (and a 37 percent disapproval rating). Gallup reports that was his highest three-day rating since October 2009.

Gallup, in its analysis, suggests that the shooting may have rallied Americans around the president and/or they approve of his handling of the tragedy.

Gallup Editor-in-Chief Frank Newport writes:

The timing of the increase in Obama's ratings could reflect a broad-based public reaction to the Newtown shootings, similar to the "rally around the flag" effect often seen at the start of wars and other threats to national security, in which Americans rally behind their leader. It could also reflect the impact of the president's specific actions after the tragedy, including his attendance and speech at a Newtown prayer service Sunday night, and his appointment on Wednesday of a national task force to recommend steps that can be taken to reduce gun violence in the future.

The poll of adults had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.