DEEPENING ECONOMIC pessimism has pushed down President Barack Obama's approval rating to a near record low, but he holds an early advantage over prospective 2012 rivals in part because of widespread dissatisfaction with Republican candidates, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
In the survey, 47 per cent approve of the job Mr Obama is doing, down seven points since January. Half of all Americans disapprove of his job performance, with 37 per cent saying they “strongly disapprove”, nearly matching the worst level of his presidency.
Driving the downward movement in Mr Obama’s standing are renewed concerns about the economy and fresh worry about rising prices, particularly for petrol. Despite signs of economic growth, 44 per cent of Americans see the economy as getting worse, the highest percentage to say so in more than two years.
The toll on Mr Obama is direct: 57 per cent disapprove of the job the president is doing dealing with the economy, tying his highest negative rating when it comes to the issue. And the president is doing a bit worse among politically important independents.
If Mr Obama is running into headwinds, however, his potential Republican opponents face serious problems too. Less than half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they are satisfied with the field of Republican candidates.
That field is still taking shape, but the sentiment is a big falloff from four years ago, when nearly two-thirds of Republicans were satisfied with their options. Lack of enthusiasm for the candidates came in other measures as well.
When Republicans and Republican-leaners were asked who they would vote for in a primary or caucus, only former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney registered in double digits, with 16 per cent. More than double that number expressed no opinion and an additional 12 per cent volunteered “none” or “no one”. Businessman Donald Trump (8 per cent), former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (6 per cent) and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (5 per cent) were the only other names volunteered by more than 2 per cent of respondents.
In hypothetical matchups for the general election, the president runs ahead of all seven potential GOP rivals tested in the new poll.
If the election were held now, Mr Romney and Mr Huckabee would mount the stiffest challenges, trailing Mr Obama by four and six percentage points respectively, among all Americans as well as among registered voters.
Mr Obama has double-digit leads over the other five tested – a dozen points against Mr Trump and Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann, 15 against former House speaker Newt Gingrich and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty and 17 points over Mrs Palin.
Despite his current advantage over the Republican field, Mr Obama remains vulnerable, with an approval rating again less than 50 per cent. A majority of those younger than 40 give the president positive ratings, but most of those 40 and older disapprove.
Mr Obama’s standing shows he has lost his post-midterm election gains.
His 54 per cent rating in January followed a well-received speech at a memorial service for the victims of the Tucson shootings, and came after a lame-duck congressional session during which he scored a series of legislative achievements.
The latest findings come after the compromise agreement between Mr Obama and Republicans to cut spending in the current fiscal year. It also comes less than a week after the president outlined his proposals for dealing with the country’s debt and deficit problems in a speech that included a withering attack on a Republican proposal by House budget committee chairman Paul Ryan.
It is Mr Obama’s standing among independents that is a prime cause for concern. Independents backed Mr Obama and other Democrats in 2008, but those who voted last year went decisively for Republicans. Among independents, 55 per cent disapprove of the job he is doing, near record highs. And for the first time, about as many independents have generally unfavourable (49 per cent) as mostly favourable (50 per cent) impressions of Obama.
In the hypothetical 2012 matchups, Mr Romney and Mr Huckabee run a touch higher than Mr Obama among independents.
Then-president Ronald Reagan was also below 50 per cent at this point in 1983, but April of that year marked the last time before his 1984 landslide he did not have majority approval in Post-ABC polling. In spring 1995, then-president Bill Clinton was also on the upswing, falling below 50 per cent only in June of that year. – ( Washington Postservice)