OBAMA SLIPS IN NEW POLL – AT 7:20 A.M. ET:  Gallup is reporting more erosion in the president's poll numbers, consistent with the findings of other polls: 

PRINCETON, NJ -- President Obama's job approval rating averaged 46% for the week ending June 12, a significant decline from his weekly averages for most of May and nearly back to the level before Osama bin Laden's death on May 1.

Thus, it appears the sustained rally in support for the president after the death of the Sept. 11 terror mastermind is largely over. The drop in Obama's approval rating coincides with an increase in Americans' pessimism about the economy. Economic confidence also increased after bin Laden's death but began to decline early this month, perhaps due to reports of anemic job growth and concerns about the slow pace of economic recovery.

And...

Among partisan groups, independents' approval rating of Obama dropped the most in the past week, from 47% to 42%, with a smaller decline among Democrats. Republicans' approval of Obama spiked to 21% during the first week after bin Laden's death from 10% in late April, before falling back to the 15% range, where it has held since.

COMMENT:  We should not assume that the president's numbers will stay down.  Any spurt upward in the economy will help him, as will kookiness in the Republican Party.  As we said last night regarding another poll, it is very early in the game.  While the president's numbers are weak, they are not impossible.  The Obama campaign will spend hundreds of millions on ads, and they will have mighty help from media.  This race is not in anyone's bag.

June 16, 2011