Today is a very good day to be New York Police Department Commissioner Ray Kelly. A new poll puts his approval rating at 75 percent, the highest yet. It is also a good day to be a criminal in New York City; 2012 saw a significant spike in the crime rate.

The results of the poll do little to quell the rumors that Kelly is eyeing a mayoral bid. He has, however, denied any plans to do so, flatly telling MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell today: "I have no plans to run for elective office."

So why are New Yorkers so fond of their police chief?

"Perhaps because of the Newtown massacre or because of the recent announcement that murder in the Big Apple is at an all-time low, or both, New York City voters like their top cop and all their cops even more," said Maurice Carroll, who is the director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute and also a person who uses the terms "Big Apple" and "top cop" in earnest.

New Yorkers also gave the NYPD as a whole a 70 percent approval rating. This, despite all the spying on Muslims, cannibalism, institutionalized racism, and shooting of innocent pedestrians. New Yorkers: that sudden warmth you feel is the wool being pulled over your eyes.

[Image via AP]