The poll is from Penn Schoen & Berland, the firm of longtime Democratic pollster Mark Penn. So it’s extremely unlikely that we’re seeing pollster bias in favor of Bush. In fact, any bias in the result would be in favor of Obama — a thought that should make Democrats very, very nervous.

The other takeaway here: Half of the nation still likes Obama personally. But that personal favorability does not translate into support for another term. Indeed, a whopping 56% say he doesn’t deserve to be re-elected.

According to pollster Doug Schoen, whose new poll shows vast support for the Tea Party movement among voters, the president is still liked by about half the nation. In fact, more like him personally than like his policies. Some 48 percent think he’s a nice guy, while just 42 percent approve of his job performance.

But that personal favorability doesn’t translate into re-election support when voters are asked if Obama deserves a second term. Says Schoen: “Despite voters feelings toward Obama personally, 56 percent say he does not deserve to be re-elected, while 38 percent say he does deserve to be re-elected president.” Worse, Schoen adds, “43 percent say that Barack Obama has been a better president than George W. Bush, while 48 percent say Bush was a better president than Obama has been.”

Which explains why the “blame Bush” strategy hasn’t worked this year for Democrats. A plurality of voters hear Bush’s name and yearn for the days when he, rather than Obama, sat in the Oval Office.

As for the midterms, a clear majority (53%) favor Republican control of Congress. Just 36% say Democrats should continue to hold power. Republicans enjoy a nine-point advantage on the generic Congressional ballot.