If you only read liberals like Michael Tomasky, President Obama is such a lock to win re-election that it’s a foregone conclusion. But Gallup suggests that the president has something, beyond his fundraising flop, to worry about.
A new poll shows that President Obama is losing nine percent of his 2008 supporters to Mitt Romney..
Gallup finds that 86 percent of 2008 Obama voters say they plan to vote for the president again. Nine percent, however, say they’re now supporting Romney.
On the other hand, 92 percent of John McCain voters say they’re supporting Mitt Romney. Five percent of those McCain voters are now voting for Obama.
That’s a net shift of four percent of the electorate moving away from Obama.
Obama only won by five points against a weak McCain effort in 2008, and when he could claim to be Captain Hopenchange the Lightworker. Now, he’s known for bad loans, a bad economy, and some disreputable campaigning that is turning many voters off to him.
Something else to consider: voter enthusiasm. Obama’s voter base is far less enthusiastic in 2012 than it was in 2008. Many of them will not switch to Romney, but they will not vote at all. The Republicans’ vote, meanwhile, has been steadily enthusiastic from the primaries forward. They want to vote, and they want to vote specifically to end Obama’s presidency.
And one more thing to consider: the economy is the number one issue, and voters are moving more and more toward Romney as the better candidate to handle the economy.
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