Obama Plummets to Earth - His Ratings in Ohio.

If the failed rapproachment in Russia were not enough bad news for Obama, his poll numbers continue to plummet.




Obama Approval Drops by Double Digits in Ohio Poll
By Kate Andersen

July 7 (Bloomberg) -- A new poll found that President Barack Obama’s approval rating has dropped by 13 percentage points from two months ago in Ohio, traditionally a critical swing state in presidential elections.

The survey by Quinnipiac University released today showed 49 percent of Ohio voters approved of Obama’s job performance, down from 62 percent in a May 6 poll. The disapproval figure for Obama in the new poll was 44 percent, up from 31 percent in the May survey.

The pollsters termed Obama’s ratings “lackluster” in a release, and said the numbers were his lowest marks “in any national or statewide Quinnipiac University poll since he was inaugurated.”
The White House announced late today that Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Cincinnati on July 9, where he will tout progress being made by the $787 billion economic stimulus Measure passed in February. [I wouldn't send Joe ... he may tell Ohio it has the right to secede from the Union ...]

“The economy in Ohio is as bad as anywhere in America,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. The poll numbers “indicate that for the first time voters have decided that President Barack Obama bears some responsibility for their problems.”

Split Over Economy

In the poll, 48 percent said they disapproved of Obama’s handling of the economy, while 46 percent approved. In the May survey, 57 percent approved of the president’s efforts on the economic front, while 36 percent disapproved.

The independent survey of 1,259 Ohio voters was conducted between June 26 and July 1 and has an error margin of plus-or- minus 2.8 percentage points.

Brown said the new poll suggests Ohio voters “might be taking out their frustration on President Obama, possibly deciding that the change he promised has not come as quickly as they expected.”

The poll found that 66 percent of Ohio voters are “very dissatisfied” or “somewhat dissatisfied” with the way things are going in the state, while 31 percent are “somewhat satisfied” and 2 percent are “very satisfied.”

Brown said Ohio “historically has been the prototypical swing state” in presidential elections. Obama carried its 20 electoral votes with 52 percent of the vote in November’s election. George W. Bush carried it with 50 percent of the vote in 2000 and 51 percent in 2004 on his way to winning those two presidential elections.

Open Senate Seat

Ohio will feature a race for an open U.S. Senate seat in 2010, and the new poll found former U.S. House member Rob Portman leading for the Republican nomination while two Democrats are in a close contest for their party’s nod.

Portman, who also served as U.S. trade representative and then director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Bush, led car dealer Tom Ganley among Republican voters, 33 percent to 10 percent.

Among Democrats, Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher led Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, 36 percent to 30 percent.

The candidates are vying to replace retiring Senator George Voinovich, a Republican.









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