WHERE OBAMA STANDS – AT 10:13 A.M. ET:  The Republicans have now had three televised debates, giving at least part of the electorate a glimpse at who might be the GOP candidate in 2012.  Given this, where does Obama now stand in public approval.  Scott Rasmussen, as of this morning:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 21% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-two percent (42%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -21...

...Overall, 44% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's job performance. Fifty-four percent (54%) at least somewhat disapprove.

And Gallup:   Gallup has 40% approving of the president's performance, and 52% disapproving.  Given the margin of error, these polls are pretty close.  We favor Rasmussen, as we've noted before, because he polls likely voters, whereas Gallup is polling adults, or people claiming to be so.  Likely voters are the most accurate measure of what an election, if held today, would look like.

We caution, though, that approval is not the end-all.  The president still does quite well against Republicans who are named, although Mitt Romney has come out slightly ahead of him in recent surveys.  I'm guessing Romney's numbers will improve somewhat, based on his debate performance the last time out.

September 24, 2011