Tom Foreman | BIO
AC360° Correspondent

Reporter's Note: President Obama’s approval rating among voters has risen a little. The unemployment rate, however, remains stubbornly high.

Dear Mr. President,

I have been asking friends and colleagues lately about their faith in the economic recovery and I’m getting a very mixed bag of answers. Most of them seem to feel that the economy is improving. They like what they are seeing with the markets. They have trouble putting their fingers on exactly which indicators are making them feel more optimistic, but they seem to think there are some. And if you compare their outlook to six months ago, you’d have to say that it is better.

But then, they roll out the caveats. They’re not sure if it is going to be a solid or shaky recovery - a short-term bounce back or a lasting resurgence, something that will bring truly better days or merely fewer bad ones.

Will your housing values come back? Hmmm…I suppose.
Do you expect to spend more money this year? Maybe.
More saving? I’d like to. Not sure.

And then comes the million-dollar one: If you lost your job, would you feel comfortable about your chances for getting another one?
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