Conservative
Type 40
Gloomy numbers for Obama - The Washington Post
Campaign 2012 is upon us. Time to size up President Obama’s reelection chances.
In 2011, an average of 17 percent of the public was “satisfied with the way things are going,” according to the Gallup Poll. That is roughly the same as 2008 — so Obama enters this year leading a country as unhappy as the one he inherited...
In mid-December, Gallup had him “underwater” by eight points: 42 percent approval and 50 percent disapproval....His current Gallup approval rating is the lowest ever for any incumbent president at this point in his first term...
Obama’s ratings on the economy, the issue voters care about most, consistently trail his overall numbers. His top legislative accomplishment — health-care reform — remains unpopular. It’s 20 points underwater in a December Associated Press-GfK poll...
The president’s campaign plans to launch a populist attack on income inequality. But the numbers imply that that is not a promising message; indeed, Gallup has recently found that the public favors pro-growth policies over pro-equality policies, 52 to 40...
Gallup recently found that voters in 12 “swing states” favor Romney by five points. In 2008, swing-state party identification favored Democrats by 11 points; now the Democratic edge is down to two points...
In short, for all the weaknesses of the Republican opposition, Barack Obama faces a dicey future as 2012 begins. Many factors that could affect his chances are beyond his control.
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