President Obama’s approval rating jumps in Florida

President Obama's approval rating appears to be rebounding in Florida, a state certain to be key to his 2012 re-election bid.

A new Quinnipiac University Poll finds 51 percent of likely voters in the state approve of the job Obama is doing--a 6 point increase since the last survey taken in early April.

Half of those polled say Obama "deserves" to be re-elected in 2012--an increase of 8 points since last month--while a plurality, 44 percent, say they will support the incumbent president over the Republican nominee next year.

Why the jump? According to Quinnipiac, Obama's boost could be credited to the death of Osama bin Laden. But whatever the broader cause of the spike, the president's improved job rating in the state largely stems from a shift in the views of self-described independent voters.

According to the poll, independent voters remain split on Obama's job, 47 percent to 45 percent, but those are better numbers than what the April survey showed for Obama. Then, 55 percent of the voting bloc said they disapproved of the president's job performance.

(Photo of Obama: Charles Dharapak/AP)