Yup. At 83.1 it's higher than it was a year before the economic crash at the end of the Bush Admin. Generally speaking, many have been looking to get back to December 2007 levels as the benchmark goal for Obama's 4 year term, and consumers feel he's there.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary October reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment came in at 83.1, up from 78.3 the month before, and the highest since September 2007, the survey showed on Friday.
"We are getting some quite interesting signals from consumer sentiment and employment data - both (the) unemployment rate and initial claims - that there has been some quite significant improvement in the economy," said David Sloan, an economist at 4Cast in New York.
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"That kind of boost in consumer sentiment benefits an incumbent without question," said Julia Clark, a pollster with Ipsos in Washington. "The challenge that the Republicans have is continuing to attack the government's credibility on this issue while we actually are seeing data that suggest that consumer sentiment is improving."
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The survey's barometer of current economic conditions rose to 88.6 from 85.7 and was above a forecast of 86.
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In another positive sign for the housing sector... a recovery in the housing market this year boosted mortgage lending at both banks.
The only question now is whether America has the integrity to give credit where credit is due, or whether they want to elect a guy like Romney so they can give him the credit instead. Big character test for America coming up...