Obama Approval Reaches New Low, But Leads Potential 2012 GOP Candidates
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 11, 2010
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — President Barack Obama has seen his approval rating fall to a new low in a new Gallup poll. Gallup now has Obama’s approval rating at 44 percent and his disapproval at 48 percent — one of just a handful of times the poll has shown higher disapproval ratings for the abortion advocate.
Despite the low marks from the American public, a new Public Policy Polling survey shows Obama still leading each of his potential 2012 challengers.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is pro-life, fares the best against Obama compared with any of the other possible Republican presidential candidates. he trails Obama 46-44 percent with the rest of the polling sample respondents undecided.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who campaigned as a pro-life candidate in 2008, trails by a slightly wider 45-42 percentage point margin.
Huckabee and Romney poll at higher levels than other potential candidates, including former presidential hopeful John McCain, who trails Obama 49-42 percent but is not expected to seek the nomination again.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is also pro-life, is the next strongest Republican against Obama, polling at eight percentage points behind him. Sarah Palin, the pro-life former Alaska governor, trails 50 to 41 percent and pro-life Rep. Ron Paul trails 46-36 percent.
Though Obama leads, the poll shows he has poor ratings from independent voters — an indication that he is vulnerable if a Republican candidate can emerge and rebuild their approval ratings with voters.
Tom Jensen, the director of PPP, wrote, “Obama is certainly weaker than in November 2008 since Huckabee and Romney do better against him than John McCain did, but continuing to lead all his potential opponents in this political climate isn’t bad."
Palin had the highest unfavorable rating of any of the potential GOP candidates, a sign that she continues to be a polarizing figure who attracts the support of many pro-life advocates but is seen as having some delectability issues.
Obama’s own approval rating came in at a 48-44 percent clip in the PPP survey of 2012 election matchups.
In an April poll of Republicans, Huckabee had the support of 24 percent compared to 20 percent for Romney, 15 percent for Palin, 14 percent for Gingrich and 8 percent for Paul. Rick Santorum, Tim Pawlenty and Mike Pence also received 2-3 percent in the poll. https://www.lifenews.com/nat6252.html
That survey showed Obama topping 50 percent against all of the Republican hopefuls.
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