This is one of those "snapshot" polls that will soon be forgotten and will have no bearing on the 2012 presidential race.
But sometimes, even these "snapshot" polls are harbingers of the future in that they sometimes have a tendency to become self-fulfilling prophecies. I was shocked to see this result, thinking Obama's support was still over 50% and that his base hovered around 40%. What this poll shows me is that his base is much lower than many believed and that he has squandered perhaps the greatest well of good will directed toward a president in modern times.
It was a Fox/Opinion Dynamics poll:
In what may be the ultimate job rating, 43 percent of voters say that they would vote to re-elect President Obama if the 2012 election were held today, down from 52 percent six months ago, from April 22-23, 2009.Obama's job approval rating comes in at 49 percent this week. That's down just one percentage point from late September, but it marks a new low approval for the president -- and the first time the Fox News poll has measured his approval below 50 percent.
Moreover, the number of Americans saying they would vote to re-elect President Obama has dropped. If the election were held today the poll finds more voters say they would back someone else in the 2012 election than would back the president.
Despite winning the Nobel Peace Prize last Friday, the latest Fox News poll finds the president's ratings on foreign issues are lower than his overall job ratings. All in all, 49 percent of Americans say they approve of the job President Obama is doing and 45 percent disapprove. His average approval for the term so far is 58 percent.
On Afghanistan, 41 percent of Americans say they approve of the job Obama is doing and 43 percent disapprove. For his handling of Iran, 44 percent approve and 43 percent disapprove.
The president also gets poor marks on his handling of the economy and health care.
While still getting strong support from Democrats, the president's numbers have dropped off a cliff with Indies. That approval rating is significant too. The lower it goes, the less political capital the White House will have to get health care reform passed.
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