Listen to Jon’s commentary:

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That’s what the political class does, and make no mistake about it, there’s money in spinning. I see no one who does it for a living showing signs of undernourishment.

But that doesn’t mean any of it has more than a distant relationship with the truth.

Let’s start with the overall “shock” value of the poll, which found that Governor Romney has a three-point lead over President Obama. A clear sign of Rom-mentum, says the right, or at least of anti-Obama backlash.

But wait a second.

The survey’s margin of error is four percent.

So, Romney might have as much as a seven-point lead, or Obama might be ahead.

And out of six times this poll has been taken since January, the two men have only been separated by more than four percent once, Obama by six back in February.

“Shock” value?

There is none.

But still, the Obama campaign wants to knock down the poll entirely, claiming it’s using a scientifically corrupted sample. False, and beside the point.

The poll finding seems entirely plausible. It’s a 50/50 country, has been for years, and a virtual tie at this point makes perfect sense.

The Democrats also don’t like the lack of a gender gap in this poll, but it makes sense that their ginned-up “war on women” rhetoric wouldn’t work. Do they really think women care more about contraception than they do about their family’s economic future?

And the Republicans are crowing about the finding that 25% say they’re less likely to vote for Obama because of his position on gay marriage, but they shouldn’t. Seventeen percent said the same of Romney’s position, and by November, few voters will care either way.

Sorry, spin doctors; I’m suing for malpractice on this one.

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.

OBAMA PRESIDENCY & THE 112TH CONGRESS:

THE HEADLINES….

Luke Sharrett for The New York Times

President Obama arrived at Richmond International Airport in Virginia on Friday. His job-approval rating has dropped as gas prices have risen and tensions with Iran have escalated.

Despite improving job growth and an extended Republican primary, President Obama’s approval rating dropped substantially in recent weeks, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

• How the Poll Was Conducted
• Document: Poll Results
• Graphic: President Obama’s Approval Rating Drops

Poll: Obama’s approval rating sinks to new low

Source: CBS News, 3-13-12

President Obama’s approval rating has hit the lowest level ever in CBS News polling, according to the latest CBS News/New York Times survey. The drop may be partially attributable to rising gas prices.

Just 41 percent of Americans approve of the job Mr. Obama is doing as president, according to the poll, conducted from March 7 to 11. Another 47 percent disapprove of his performance, up from 41 percent last month.

Mr. Obama’s approval rating was 50 percent last month.

The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped 12 cents over the past two weeks. The poll found that most Americans, 54 percent, believe gas prices are something a president can do a lot about.

Americans have historically felt that a president can control gas prices, though experts attribute changes to a variety of factors, many outside of a president’s control….READ MORE

The last two polls conducted through Tuesday night have shown that Newt Gingrich is between three and seven points behind Romney in national polling.

Rasmussen conducted a snap poll overnight Tuesday and found the split between Romney and Gingrich was just three percent, or a statistical tie based on a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.

In the Rasmussen poll, Romney led the way with 30 percent of support from Republicans. Gingrich was second at 27 percent, Rick Santorum was third with 15 percent, and Ron Paul was fourth with 14 percent.

A CBS News/New York Times poll conducted over the last week, found Romney was leading Gingrich 28 percent to 21 percent nationally.

Rick Santorum came in third in the CBS poll with 16 percent; Ron Paul was fourth with 15 percent. The poll had a margin of error of +/- 5 percent.

While the Rasmussen and CBS News polls could be outliers; Gingrich’s performance in the most recent Fox News debate in South Carolina could be bolstering his overall image.

If the two new polls do signify a shift in the GOP race, Gingrich could do himself a big favor by winning the South Carolina primary.

The new polls could also put a tough question before Gingrich and Santorum. They are essentially splitting the conservative Republican vote.

Conservatives have long sought anyone but Romney. But, the only way either can beat Romney is for one of them to give up and fully support the other.

So far, Gingrich has been unwilling to support Santorum, and vice-versa.

But, if either Santorum or Gingrich can pull out a victory in South Carolina and stop the momentum of Romney heading into Florida; the other candidate may be forced to support the other.

MADISON, Wis. (CBS) – Democratic Wisconsin senators are still hiding out in Illinois, as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker prepares to present a budget that strips collective bargaining rights from most public employees.

Meanwhile, protesters against Walker’s budget plan appear to be gaining support across the country.

A new CBS News/New York Times poll indicates that 56 percent of Americans oppose cutting the pay and benefits of public workers to reduce state budget deficits, compared with 37 percent in favor and 7 percent undecided. A total of 60 percent oppose taking away collective bargaining rights, compared with 33 percent in favor and 7 percent undecided.

The poll also finds that most Americans say they would support a tax increase over a reduction in pay for public workers.

But Walker is standing his ground.

“The law is on our side,” he said. “We have a right to do this to the statutes and that’s what we’re doing.”

He also maintains that if the 14 Wisconsin state senators who have left the state do not return for a budget vote, they will cost the state $165 million in bond refinancing.

Protests against Walker’s budget plan continue in Madison, and some supporters of public workers’ are calling on President Barack Obama to keep a promise he made on the campaign trail 3 1/2 years ago.

As WBBM Newsradio 780’s Bernie Tafoya reports, in 2007, then-candidate Obama told a crowd that if American workers are being denied the right to organize and collectively bargain when he is in the White House, he would put on a comfortable pair of shoes and walk the picket line with them.

LISTEN: Newsradio 780′s Bernie Tafoya reports

So far, there has been no indication that Obama intends to do that in Wisconsin, and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) does not think he should.

“In terms of physically walking or appearing at the capitol, I would say in his role as president that may not be the right thing to do at this moment, but I think the American people know where he stands,” Durbin said.

Durbin said the President of the United States has a different role to play in matters like this, and President Obama has exercised his leadership correctly.

While most of the protesters are in Madison, the demonstrations have spread well beyond the state capital.

In particular, Walker’s campaign backers are taking heat. Protesters marched Monday outside a Georgia Pacific plant in Green Bay Monday, which is owned by Koch Industries.

The billionaire Koch brothers rank 24th on the Forbes list of the world’s richest people, and are Walker supporters. Walker took heat from opponents earlier this week, when Ian Murphy, a blogger for the left-leaning Web site “Buffalo Beast,” posed as Koch Industries billionaire and Walker backer David Koch and called Walker up.

In a 20-minute conversation, Walker openly discussed plans to issue layoff notices if his budget bill is not passed soon, and talked about ideas to punish the absent Senate Democrats, whom Murphy-as-Koch referred to as “Democrat bastards.” Murphy-as-Koch also suggested inserting “troublemakers” among the demonstrators, but Walker said while he had “thought about it,” the idea would be politically unadvisable.

Tea Party protesters have been coming to Wisconsin to campaign in support of Walker.

State Senator Bill Brady and ex-Florida Governor Jeb Bush at a recent Illinois fundraiser for Brady.

(Chicago, IL) — June 23, 2010. While Governor Pat Quinn this morning was breakfasting with well-healed swells at an early-morning fundraiser at RL restaurant–Ralph Lauren for the hoi polloi–in Chicago, State Senator Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) was also in Chicago, but breaking bread with the paranoid, out-of-state Media Research Center types.

Based in Alexandria, Virgina, the right-wing MRC sifts and sorts through mainstream news media stories that report on the “reality community” sniffing out conspiracy nuggets of liberal media bias and suppression in the name of “balance“.

From a MRC “report” on June 21 provides a flavor of their wing-nuttery:

CBS Poll Finds Tough Numbers for Obama on Oil Leak, But Couric Hides Them

Katie Couric opened Monday’s CBS Evening News by touting how “in a CBS News/New York Times poll out tonight, 43 percent of Americans approve of President Obama’s handling of the spill. Only 13 percent approve of BP’s efforts.”

She offered no further details, such as how 47 percent disapprove of Obama’s performance, and only those checking CBSNews.com would realize the selectivity in the assessment of Obama she chose to highlight.

When Brady pledged to spend more time campaigning in Chicago, the impression that he conveyed was that he would be reaching out beyond his narrow, ultra-conservative ideological circle, not reinforcing it.

Despite that he was breakfasting in a right-wing conservative echo-chamber, the fact that Brady had the meeting Chicago, rankled and worried Brady’s Facebook friends.

“Bill, there is more to Illinois than Chicago.. just sayin… ,” wrote Molly Smith Burns of Peoria.

Most Americans do not believe President Obama has a clear plan to deal with the oil spill in the Gulf, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll.

Just 32 percent say Mr. Obama has a clear plan to deal with the oil leak, while 59 percent (including 64 percent of Gulf coast residents) say he does not.

The numbers are not much better among those who watched the president’s Oval Office speech on the spill last week, with 35 percent of that group saying he has a clear plan and 56 percent saying he does not.

The spill isn’t the only issue on which the president is seen as lacking a plan of action: Just 41 percent say Mr. Obama has a clear plan for developing new sources of energy, while 45 percent say he has no clear plan. And when it comes to creating jobs, just 34 percent say he has a clear plan; 54 percent say he does not.

A majority of Americans – 61 percent – says the president’s response to the oil spill was too slow. Just 31 percent say they have “a lot” of confidence in his ability to handle a crisis, though a majority has at least some confidence that he can do so. Since January, the percentage who says Mr. Obama has strong qualities of leadership has fallen from 70 percent to 62 percent.

Overall, 43 percent approve of Mr. Obama’s handling of the oil spill, while 47 percent disapprove.

But the most devastating numbers (and the most alarming for the White House) are the right track/wrong track results which are not featured in either the cbs.com on-line or New York Times stories on the poll results.

60% think the country is headed in the wrong direction while only 32% think the country is headed in the right direction.

I can’t wait until November.