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Without fanfare, President Obama has accomplished something he might not have dreamed possible just a few months ago: a steady rise in his job approval ratings.

Since mid-December, when he was deeply 鈥渦nder water鈥� 鈥� averaging only 43.5 percent job approval and almost 52 percent disapproval, RealClearPolitics 鈥撀燤r. Obama has climbed upward, slowly but surely.

A month ago, Obama crossed into positive territory 鈥撀爉ore approval than disapproval 鈥� for the first time since May 2013, and hasn鈥檛 looked back. Some nonpartisan polls, such as Gallup, even show him regularly polling above 50 percent.

If these numbers hold, they could help Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, in her quest to succeed Obama, as well as other Democrats down ballot. As Obama鈥檚 poll numbers rise, so too does his value as a surrogate on the campaign trail, at least in some parts of the country.

The rise of Obama鈥檚 job approval also points to some 鈥済ive鈥� in the narrative of a deeply polarized nation. There is, apparently, a group in the middle that has been willing to shift its view of a president many either love or dislike intensely. Even if 鈥渟wing voters鈥� are a vanishing breed in elections,聽some are willing to 鈥渟wing鈥� in their view of the president.

So why is Obama suddenly looking pretty good, or good enough, to a growing number of Americans?

For starters, he could be benefiting from what some call the 鈥渘ostalgia effect.鈥� As a president heads toward the finish line, Americans realize he won鈥檛 be around much longer, and some who previously held a negative view go positive. This trend isn鈥檛 necessarily Obama-specific.

鈥淐ommentators point to a for voters to appreciate 鈥撀爋r at least be less critical of 鈥撀爈ame-duck presidents,鈥� writes Gina Jannone, senior writer/editor at Rasmussen Reports polling firm.聽

George W. Bush didn鈥檛 benefit from that phenomenon, leaving office amid two unpopular wars and a crashing economy, but Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan . Both departed with job-approval ratings well above 50 percent, despite scandals.

In Obama鈥檚 case, voters remain anxious about the future of the country and about their own economic and physical security. True, unemployment has been cut in half since Obama took office, but two-thirds of Americans see the nation as being on the 鈥�,鈥� versus just 27 percent who see it on the 鈥渞ight track.鈥� 聽The populist appeal of both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders is an obvious result.

And yet Obama is going through a bit of a renaissance. Or as a commentator in Fortune magazine last month, 鈥淎mericans are falling in love with Barack Obama, again.鈥� 聽That鈥檚 a bit of an overstatement, but three weeks after it was written, Obama鈥檚 numbers have only improved.

The answer to 鈥渨hy鈥� may also link directly to the free-wheeling reality TV show known as the 2016 presidential race.聽

鈥淚t is possible that the rage and uncertainty swirling around the 2016 race may be turning many voters鈥� attention away from the performance of the sitting president and muffling criticism of him,鈥� writes Ms. Jannone.

It鈥檚 also true that, in his final months in office, Obama has done some things that Americans like. The opening to Cuba 鈥撀爌unctuated by his historic visit to Havana last month 鈥撀爄s popular. A majority of Americans Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland should be confirmed, and nearly 60 percent say Judge Garland should at least have a confirmation hearing.

The days of bold, risky initiatives, like health-care reform and executive actions aimed at helping illegal immigrants, are probably long over. A gridlocked Congress has made for a light legislative agenda, and the president鈥檚 days often feature events heavy on symbolism. Tuesday was聽Equal Pay Day, and聽he delivered a speech聽designating the headquarters of the National Woman鈥檚 Party as a national monument.聽

In interviews, Obama himself is starting to sound nostalgic. He鈥檚 going to miss Air Force One. His elder daughter, Malia, is about to go away to college. Every annual milestone, like the Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House, is the last of his presidency.

Still, there鈥檚 no guarantee things will remain this quiet for Obama, or that his numbers will keep trending upward. He has more than nine months to go, and in the presidency, as with politics, that鈥檚 almost a lifetime.