The National Disaster. Obama has very high poll numbers for an incoming president.

A new poll suggests that Barack Obama's high ratings aren't just your average . . . honeymoon, but could effectively be the same as when the people rally around their leader after a disaster.

The new numbers from CNN show 76% of Americans saying that Obama is a strong and decisive leader. This is higher than George W. Bush's 60% when he first took office, and Bill Clinton's 67% in January 1993.

However, the number is nearly identical to George W. Bush's rating on this question right after September 11, 2001.

Obama's gotten such high marks for his appointments that even conservative commentators like William Kristol and Tony Blankley are sanguine about his taking office.

But Obama's isn't getting high ratings "like" the "rally around the flag" effect in times of disaster, he's getting high ratings because the nation is rallying around him in a time of apparent economic disaster. Obama's getting "9-11" ratings because a lot of people who didn't vote for him believe that the country is in crisis.

And they're right.