REMARKABLE - AT 9:19 A.M. ET:  Michael Barone reports on a survey that reveals the extent of the president's political problems.  From the Washington Examiner:

It’s not too early, apparently, to test opinion on the 2012 presidential race. Pollster Scott Rasmussen has asked likely voters to decide between Barack Obama and three reasonably well-known Republicans, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin. He also asked about their preferences in three-way pairings between those candidates and recently-resigned CNN commentator Lou Dobbs. There are three interesting findings.

Number one. Obama is essentially tied with all three Republicans, leading Huckabee 45%-41% and Palin 46%-43% and even with Romney at 44%-44%. In other words, Obama is running at his job approval rating level, which Rasmussen has at 46%-54%. This is reminiscent of the 2004 general election, in which George W. Bush’s 51% of the vote mirrored his job approval numbers.

And...

I don’t think these numbers are anything like a reliable indicator of how the 2012 election cycle will unfold; they’re more like a referendum on Obama today, and not a particularly complimentary one. But it’s interesting that three Republican politicians, each with his or her own liabilities, are still running about even with Obama.

COMMENT:  It's true that Rasmussen surveys do tend to show Republicans slightly higher than some other polls.  But, even taking that into consideration, these are extraordinary numbers.  They give encouragement to us for 2010, if the Republicans can get over their love of defeat and get to work.

November 30, 2009