It’s never easy for an outgoing president’s party to win in November. Americans are historically impatient, and their commitment is shaky. And by the end of a president’s final term, there’s generally ample material for the opposition party to run against.

All those facts and more will undoubtedly work to the advantage of Obama in November, and his campaign’s central argument - that McCain is just a third term of George W. Bush - is a strong one. Today, an AP-Ipsos poll gives President Bush an approval rating of just 28 percent - a tie for his lowest numbers ever in the same poll. Such statistics will certainly benefit Obama and the opposition Democrats.

However, the same AP-Ipsos poll holds potentially troublesome news for Congressional Democrats seeking election and reelection in 2008 as well. Public approval of the Democratic-controlled Congress is at a dismal 16 percent. Many see such numbers as reflective of the sluggish economy, and some Democrats are upset by what they see as their party’s unwillingness to confront the lame-duck president.

Ironically, the Democrats’ major Congressional electoral victory in 2006 may work to their disadvantage in 2008. It’s virtually impossible that Republicans will narrow their deficit in Congress in the November elections, but Democrats’ plans to all-but sweep the contest will almost certainly be complicated by public dissatisfaction as evidenced in the AP-Ipsos poll.

As the election approaches, it’s almost certain that Democrats and Republicans alike will seek to distance themselves from the increasingly unpopular president. What is yet to be seen, however, is which party will be successful in pinning the other as responsible for the country’s economic woes.