The New York Times reports this morning that President Obama is enjoying strong support from the American public.  There has been an increase in the number of people who think that the nation is moving in the right direction.  In mid-January, just before Obama’s inauguration, only 15 percent of the people polled said they thought the country was headed in the right direction; today it is 39 percent.  Before the Obama inauguration, 70 percent thought the nation was headed in the wrong direction; that has dropped to 53 percent.  That is the highest percentage of Americans who said the country is headed in the right direction since 42 percent said so in February 2005, the second month of George W. Bush’s second term.  That’s a success for Obama under any circumstances, but with unemployment continuing to escalate, the residential real estate still in decline, commercial real estate on the precipice of a catastrophe, and major issues such as health care reform and a new energy program still on the docket, the change is extraordinary.

The gist of the poll is really this:  Americans do not see any real improvement in the economy yet, and the poll indicates that 70 percent of respondents were very or somewhat concerned that someone in their household would be out of work and looking for a job in the next 12 months.  Furthermore, take a look at the numbers of people who think the bank bailout program is not a good thing (58 percent) and the low number (41 percent) who favor a bigger government that provides more services, and you’re left scratching your head.  Huh?   How can people dislike such critical components of Obama’s agenda and still feel more optimistic about the direction of the nation?

The answer:  Barack Obama himself (probably with some help from Michelle Obama).  Americans have faith in the man.  And, to an increasing degree, so do people in other nations.  The U.S. has a true world leader.

Whereas that might be bad news for those who philosophically disagree with Obama’s approach to the economic crisis, it is good news to those who are hoping for an economic recovery.  Consumer confidence will have to be restored before people go out to buy new shoes or TVs or cars.  Business owners and managers will need to have more confidence in the general direction of things before they decide to wait just a bit before they invoke the next wave of layoffs because just maybe those employees will be needed.

The remarkable part of this poll is that the trend towards a new optimism comes only 11 weeks after Obama was inaugurated.  It is largely the result of his non-stop efforts to address issues and keep in front of the American public.

I did not understand those pundits who were concerned that Obama was “over-exposing” himself with appearances on Jay Leno, town hall meetings, live press conferences, etc.  His communications blitz has combined with his incredible ability to stay on point to help move the trend in the right direction.  Mitt Romney now looks like a fool for criticizing Obama for going on the Leno Show (as if he didn’t look like a fool when he first said it).  What Obama knows is what George W. Bush did not understand: communicating to the public clearly and frequently and candidly is an integral part of the job of being president.  It looks as if Obama is taking the concept and expanding it to include communicating to all people throughout the world.

I think there is a reason why we’re not seeing protests in the US as we have seen in other parts of the world, from Europe to Asia.  Many commentators attribute the reason to a difference in culture:  Europeans, they assert, simply have a history of taking to the streets.  Maybe, but I do not think that is the real reason.  I think Americans already staged their major protest in November 2008 when they elected Obama.  He spoke of “us” and “them” with better style but the same substance as the protestors in other parts of the world.  Whereas other political leaders have been critical of the rage of the middle/working class (who feel that they have been let down and exploited by those in government, banking and business), Obama said “I do not want to quell their anger.  I think people are right to be angry.  I’m angry.”

So, we just might be seeing the most important stimulus to the economy that nobody has yet focused on: political stability.  Where three governments have already fallen in Europe (Iceland, Latvia, Czechoslovakia) and more seem to be on the edge, the US seems secure in its leadership.  Where the opposition parties are strong and aggressive in their campaigns to assume power elsewhere, in the US the opposition party is in total disarray, losing support and becoming a joke.

In the communications business, when developing a campaign, we always want to stress a client’s differentiators — the characteristic that sets an organization or a product apart from its competitors.  Then that differentiator will be leveraged throughout the campaign.  Sometimes it takes research, and sometimes it is totally obvious.  In the case of the US, for right now, the global differentiator seems obvious:  political stability.  That can be a major asset in a global economy and could provide the US the competitive edge it needs to begin coming out of this mess ahead of the rest of the world.  If that is the case, that will be good news for everyone worldwide — except the Republicans in the U.S.