The unfolding cautionary tale for aspiring American presidents continues, as today’s Rasmussen daily presidential tracking poll finds Barack Obama at a new low point.

Rasmussen’s Approval Index, calculated as the difference between poll respondents who give the president strong approval vs. strong disapproval, checks in at minus-16 today. Forty-one percent of those polled say they strongly disapprove of Obama’s presidency, whereas his strong approvals are just 25 percent. That latter figure “matches the lowest level of enthusiasm yet recorded,” according to the pollster.

Obama’s overall approval rate in the Rasmussen poll checks in at 46 percent, with a 53 percent disapproval rate.

Some degree of ebb and flow can certainly be expected with any presidency. The question with Obama is where his upside opportunities might be. The president’s two major legislative initiatives this year are health care, which Rasmussen says fails the smell test of the American people by a 51-41 count and CNN says is disapproved of by a staggering 61 percent, and Cap And Trade – another loser. A Dec. 3 Rasmussen poll found that 53 percent of the American people disagree with the concept that the science is settled on global warming – hardly the basis for a turnover of the nation’s economy.

Moreover, Rasmussen found that only 30 percent of those polled believe the country is on the right track, as opposed to 65 percent who think otherwise. After a year of lofty speeches and blame for his predecessor, those are not good numbers for Obama.

The lesson for future presidents? Don’t misread your mandate from the American people, and don’t bait-and-switch the voters. Obama sold America on the idea that he was a centrist, post-partisan candidate, and since his inauguration he has governed as a hard-left wannabe dictator. The American people have begun to notice, and they are rejecting his substance and, increasingly, his style.

Perhaps there are ways for this president to recapture his lost credibility and popularity, but the equation would need to change in a manner not currently foreseen. It looks like a long three years ahead for Obama.