Yes, being the first black president probably helps:
"Centrist voters and the ones who decide elections are still fundamentally rooting for the guy," [former New Hampshire Republican Party chairman Fergus] Cullen said. "People who don't view politics in ideological terms give him the benefit of the doubt, and that is an incredible political asset to have."
But Independents still view him negatively. Nonetheless, Obama is six points ahead of Reagan at this point in his first term, and a jot above Clinton before Clinton ran a classic Mediscare election campaign.
The Dish 