Second look at Obama for independents?

That unpredictable, cranky group of voters who helped carry the president into office two years ago before turning against him in dramatic fashion, may be turning back in Obama’s direction even more quickly.

A series of national polls released over the last week shows Obama’s approval rating on the upswing among voters who don’t affiliate with either political party…

But Winston emphasized that while independent voters may be in the political center, they aren’t in the “ideological center,” meaning that even under the best of circumstances they’ll be a difficult group for Obama to hang onto.

“Independents are a center-right group,” he said. “That’s why Republicans have been able to put together majorities and that’s the challenge to the president.”…

“Independents are anti-politician in general,” Jensen said. “We find very few elected officials who are particularly popular with them and that’s partly because choosing not to identify with either major political party is a general sign of skepticism towards our political system and the politicians who fuel it.”