Is Romney getting more unpopular?

Of course.

But that's entirely to be expected.

Public Policy Polling has a new poll out -- forwarded merrily by the Democratic National Committee -- showing Mitt Romney's favorable numbers dipping with Republicans in 13 states since the start of 2011.

Here are the caveats.

a. The dip isn't that big. His overall fav rating is now 50%/35%, while it was 54%/25% at the start of 2012.

50% vs. 54% is within a margin of error, so the real news is that his unfavorables have jumped 10%.

b. But here's the deal: 10% isn't that much in the context of a campaign when you're getting hit from all sides.

Candidates nearly always get more unpopular as the race goes on, and especially front-runners who absorb the most heat. Name a candidate that hasn't seen more scrutiny and unfavorable stories since they've risen.

If I were Romney, I wouldn't be too worried about this poll -- there are plenty of other things to keep him up at night -- not the least of which is the disintegration of 9-9-9 and the small momentum by Huntsman in New Hampshire (Also, RomneyCare).