He dipped as low as 39 percent during the dog days of last summer, but President Obama has rebounded to score a 50 percent job approval rating in the latest Gallup Poll tracking survey.

Getting to 50 percent approval is considered a bellwether for incumbent officeholders, although Obama remains a polarizing figure. The President’s disapproval in the latest Gallup survey is at 43 percent.

In the Republican presidential race, Mitt Romney has a 16-point lead over Rick Santorum — but still fails to win support from 50 percent of the Republicans surveyed by Gallup.

Romney has a 41-25 percent lead over Santorum, with libertarian-minded Rep. Ron Paul at 12 percent and ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich fading to 9 percent.

The poll’s figures are based on interviews taken April 1-5 with 1,500 voters nationwide.

Independent voters broke for Obama in 2008, then swung to Republicans in the 2010 mid-term elections. Gallup finds that they are returning to the incumbent as he faces a difficult reelection race.

“Barack Obama’s positioning against Mitt Romney among independent voters in 12 swing states has steadily improved since last year, with Obama now leading 48-39 among this group after trailing in December,” Gallup reported.