Campaign 2012: Obama vs. Generic GOP

Looking ahead to the 2012 presidential election, 47% of voters would like to see President Barack Obama reelected, while 37% would prefer a Republican candidate take the White House. With the election still well over a year away, 16% of registered voters do not know who they would like to see elected president in 2012. Obama does about as well in his hypothetical election matchup as President George W. Bush did in April 2003, a time when Bush enjoyed very high approval ratings (72%) on the heels of the start of the Iraq war. Obama’s current approval rating is 51% and most Americans (74%) remain unsatisfied with the state of the nation. Working in Obama’s favor, however, is that most Americans have an unfavorable opinion of the opposition political party — 51% have an unfavorable view of the GOP — and he remains personally popular (58% have a favorable view of Obama). Obama also does considerably better than Bill Clinton did in March 1995. At this stage in his presidency, Clinton had a lower approval rating (44%) and faced a much stronger GOP (67% favorable). Read More