By Bill O'Reilly

The survey is terrible news for President Obama. Sixty-two percent of Americans now disapprove of how he's handling the economy; just 32 percent approve. That is Armageddon for the White House. However, Mr. Obama is not completely out of it because the economy could rally.

In the same poll, 69 percent of Americans say they like the president as a person; just 16 percent do not like him. But remember, most Americans liked George W. Bush, as well as his father, but in the end they voted with their pocketbooks. Bush the elder lost and W. left office with low approval ratings.

The poll also says 49 percent believe the economy is getting worse right now. Seventy-six percent say we are in a recession and 53 percent blame Bush for that; just 32 percent blame Obama.

As far as the Tea Party is concerned, 29 percent of Americans have a favorable view of the movement, 42 percent unfavorable, 29 percent say they haven't heard enough.

There is no question the Tea Party took a hit in the debt debate debacle, as many Americans feel some Tea Party people were too militant. Also, Tea Party stalwarts like Sarah Palin continue to have big negatives.

Now onto the presidential race. Forty-six percent of Americans think Mitt Romney would do a better job than Barack Obama on the economy; 42 percent say Obama would be better. Forty-one percent say Gov. Rick Perry would be more effective on the economy, but 43 percent think Obama would do a better job than Perry.

Remember, however, that most Americans don't know much about Gov. Perry yet, so polling on him could change very quickly.

What this data demonstrates is that Americans continue to be very frustrated with the economy and fully understand the president's current policies are not helping. But the majority do continue to blame Mr. Bush for getting us into this mess in the first place. That gives Barack Obama some hope, but "T-Points" continues to say that two and a half years is a long time and we are not seeing the improvement needed in the economy, period. No excuses. No spin.

Mr. Obama will address the country next Thursday, but we don't expect the address to have much impact. All that really matters is the economy getting better, not what anybody says about it.

And that's "The Memo."

Pinheads & Patriots

The Scholastic Corporation, which specializes in educating children, has put together a press corps. In July, some of the budding young reporters went to the White House, where 10-year-old Topanga Sena asked President Obama this question:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOPANGA SENA, CHILD JOURNALIST: Mr. President, I live in central Florida, and some of my friends and some children in my neighborhood have had to live in hotels because their parents lost their jobs and lost their home to foreclosure. What would you say to kids and families who are struggling in this economy?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: The economy is going through a very difficult time, and we've gone through times like this before, where a lot of people get laid off from work. We had a big economic crisis. It's getting better, but not as fast as we'd like.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Of course, that was a non-answer to an excellent question. Topanga is a patriot.

— You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads & Patriots" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com.