Posted on 05/17/2011 2:07:02 PM PDT by DangerZone
Voters remain fairly evenly divided over whether they want to give President Obama a second term in the White House.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that a Generic Republican currently earns support from 45% of Likely Voters across the nation, while the president attracts 43% of the vote. A week ago, the president had an equally modest edge. Rasmussen Reports will provide new data on this generic match-up each week until the field of prospective Republican nominees narrows to a few serious contenders. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
These results are consistent with the fact that the president’s Job Approval rating has hovered in the high-40s for most of the past 18 months. On Election Day in 2012, it is reasonable to assume that the president’s vote total will be close to his Job Approval. What is impossible to determine at this point is where the president’s Job Approval will be in the fall of next year.
Eighty-two percent (82%) of Democrats prefer the president, while 83% of Republicans support the generic candidate from their party. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 42% support the Republican and 36% are ready to vote for President Obama. Last week, the president had a very slight advantage among unaffiliated voters.
One challenge for the president at this time is that the number of people who consider themselves Democrats today is down significantly from the fall of 2008.
The biggest unknown from the GOP side is who will be the party’s nominee? Rasmussen Reports polling shows that Mitt Romney and Chris Christie could lead the pack if Christie enters the race. “The GOP campaign is so wide open that it’s impossible to even predict who will enter the race and who will drop out,” noted Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports. “The underlying dynamics suggest that someone could enter as late as Thanksgiving or Christmas and be a serious contender. With Huckabee and Trump opting out, some of the lesser known candidates will now have an opportunity to gain some traction among the party activists.”
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted on May 9-15, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Other indicators suggesting the election could be close if held today include the fact that the president attracts between 42% and 49% of the vote against all prospective Republican candidates. Additionally, on the Generic Congressional Ballot, Republicans continue to hold a modest advantage.
It is important to note that results could change dramatically over the next year-and-a-half, particularly as perceptions of the economy change. The president currently receives good marks for his handling of national security issues following the killing of Osama bin Laden but weaker reviews on the economy.
Perception of personal finances have tumbled over the past two-and-a-half years. On the night before Lehman Brothers collapsed, 43% of Americans rated their own finances as good or excellent. That fell to 35% by the time Obama took office. Currently, just 30% rate their finances in such a positive manner. Rasmussen Reports updates these figures and overall levels of consumer and investor confidence on a daily basis.
Voters currently trust Republicans more than Democrats when it comes to the economy.
However, when it comes to the fiscal policy issues surrounding the federal budget, voters are skeptical about both sides and overwhelmingly believe that nothing significant will be accomplished before the 2012 election.
Voters remain fairly evenly divided
Translation: Less than two weeks after taking down Osama Bin Laden, Obama would lose narrowly to a Republican that the Press cannot even name.
And that’s sans body. Just pick a name from the phone book fer cryin out loud.
If we can’t defeat Baraq with $5 gas, surging inflation, 10% unemployment, plunging house prices, and Obamacare, we deserve him.
Post of the week.
obama is toast, we can run Daffy Duck against him and win. I’m all in for Herman Cain.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZDkacOveF0
Just run Mr. Gene Ric, and everythang's gonna be fine
.
Candidates trailing by double digits include Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels, Herman Cain and Jon Huntsman.
Key data for the current race.
Bet you won’t see this in the MSM.
The Generic candidate in polls always does better than an actual named candidate. That’s because the un-named candidate has no negative name recognition or baggage and this allows respondents to imagine a best-case-scenario. I don’t like that the generic isn’t leading Obama comfortably at this point.
Romney, Huntsman, Pawlenty and Daniels are about as generic as one could be.
Blacks are an automatic 95% vote for Hussein. Single women are probably 60% for the Cult. What other large demographic will it carry?
You don’t think that this far into his term, Obama should be getting slammed in the polls? I don’t see where he gets this much support.
Me either, but it reflects what I hear out there.
This is pretty bad news.
That is wishful thinking. At this point, he has a good chance of being re-elected.
If we hit $5 gas and food prices reach the point where large numbers of people can’t even sustain themselves, things may very well move beyond elections.
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