Polls: Obama Down, Perry Up

The first is from Gallup. President Obama has hit yet another all-time low in support while hitting yet another all-time high in disapproval.

Barack Obama’s approval rating has plummeted to 38 per cent – an all time low for the beleaguered President.

Despite NATO successes in Libya, the latest Gallup poll results show the President continuing to loose ground among voters.

The news came after it emerged whites and women are a re-election problem for Obama, along with his traditional base of younger voters and liberals.

I love the framing in that paragraph — as if “success” in Libya could ever help Obama attract or retain voters. Throw in the dubious nature of the “success” in Libya and no one should expect Obama to get anything more than a dead cat bounce of out that. The real story is the economy, that it stinks, and that Obama is making it worse.

It’s that story that’s helping propel Texas Gov. Rick Perry to the top of the GOP pack. Where Obama is a demonstrable failure on the economy, Perry can point to tangible successes in his record as governor. Perry is also taking the fight to Obama in ways that put him up against the president in what’s looking more like a two-man race. All of that is working to Perry’s benefit.

The survey, released Monday, indicates that 27 percent of Republicans nationwide support Perry for their party’s nomination, with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who’s making his second bid for the White House, at 14 percent. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin follows at ten percent, with Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani at nine percent, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who’s making his third bid for the presidency, at six percent. Every one else listed on the questionnaire registered in the low single digits.

The survey follows a Gallup poll out last week which also placed Perry at the top of the GOP field. Other polling released in the past week also confirms the findings of the CNN and Gallup surveys.

“Perry’s support is higher among Republican men, at 32 percent, than Republican women, at 23 percent, but he has more support among either group than any other candidate,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

According to the survey, Perry supporters tend to be older and have higher incomes, but the longtime Texas governor also tops the list, albeit by smaller margins, among lower-income Republicans and those under 50 years old.

“Perry’s biggest support comes from Republicans who say they are supporters of the tea party movement – he wins 37 percent of their vote – but he also edges Romney by a couple of points among Republicans who don’t call themselves tea party supporters,” adds Holland.

How bad are things for Obama right now? About 27 percent of Democrats want another candidate on the ballot next year. We’ve been treated to lots of talk on the weakness of the GOP field over the past few months, but what of the weakness of the Democrats’ one-man field? Having one in four in your own part pining for a replacement, when you’re the unchallenged incumbent, speaks to turnout when it comes time to vote next year.