As the focus moves from the Congressional elections to the race for the presidency, political observers are chomping at the bit to dissect every new poll that comes out — and a new one today shows bad news for Obama.
President Barack Obama is behind former governors Republicans Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee in their possible 2012 quest to prevent Obama from getting another term.
According to a new poll released today by Quinnipiac University, both are in a statistical dead heats in hypothetical matchups with Obama where Romney, the ex-Massachusetts governor, leads Obama 45-44 percent and Obama leads Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, 46-44 percent.
Obama also came out on top in a matchup with Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels by a 45 percent to 36 percent margin. Daniels is a pro-life governor who upset the pro-life community with talk of a truce on social issues like abortion.
When it comes to Republican voters, pro-life former Alaska governor Sarah Palin is the top choice, though she does nor fare as well against Obama — trailing 48-40 percent among all voters.
Peter Brown, assistant director of the Hamden, Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a statement, said Palin “is very unpopular among independents, and although she recently said she thought she could defeat Obama, the data does not now necessarily support that assertion.”
Defeating Obama becomes priority number one for the pro-life movement in its quest to replace him with a pro-life president who will appoint the Supreme Court justices necessary to reverse Roe v. Wade and provide legal protection for unborn children from abortion.
The good news for the pro-life cause is the Quinnipiac poll also found respondents say Obama shouldn’t be re-elected in 2012 by a 49 percent to 43 percent margin. Obama’s approval rating is split at 48 percent favorable and 48 percent unfavorable, meaning some of the people who approve of the job he is doing don’t want him back for a second term.
Just 39 percent of men and 35 percent of independents say Obama should be re-elected.
“The Democratic base remains squarely behind President Barack Obama when it comes to his re-election, but his weakness among independent voters at this point makes his 2012 election prospects uncertain,” Brown said.
Obama’s numbers are so low that 27 percent of Democrats say someone else should challenge him for the nomination.
The potential presidential candidates have all been discussing the possibility that they may jump in the race sometime next year.
Palin said she believes she can beat Obama. Palin responded “I believe so” when asked in an interview with Barbara Walters of ABC News whether she could win.
Huckabee was in Iowa over the weekend talking with pro-life activists.
“Am I keeping the option open? Yes. Am I open to it, considering it and giving, you know, thought? Of course. I think it would be foolish not to,” Huckabee said.
The Quinnipiac poll surveyed 2,424 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2 percentage points.
