Gretchen's Take: Political unrest not hurting party images

Polls say wacky primary season hasn't impacted how voters view the two major parties

Even with all of the seemingly political unrest this election cycle -- a new poll out about political parties and our like or dislike for them caught my eye. Turns out the images of the two major parties have not suffered because of a wacky primary season.

Forty-four percent of you still see the Democratic Party in a favorable way with 36-percent still liking the Republican Party, and surprisingly -- that hasn't changed much from March of last year when the numbers were 42-percent and 36-percent.

I also think it's important to throw the recent approval ratings for President Obama, which have been higher recently. Gallup poll projected the President’s approval rating at 52-percent approval, Rasmussen poll at 50-percent, and Fox News at 49-percent.

Why is that important? History has shown when a sitting president's approval rating is high -- its good news for the same political party to win the White House. So, will it be true this time? In a year when not much of anything has seemed to follow political norms -- who knows!