A new George Washington University and Politico poll brings good news for Democrats and not-so-good news for Republicans.
If you want to know why Barack Obama is looking good for reelection despite the our nation’s economic struggles, the new Politico/GWU poll has your answer. 72% of voters in battleground states approve of Obama as a person.
The Politico/GWU poll found that despite 56% of voters saying they are concerned about the economy, President Obama has a 52% job approval rating. Obama only has a 42% approval rating on the economy, but by a margin of 48%-42% he is more trusted to handle the economy than congressional Republicans. Obama is also more trusted to create jobs (47%-43%), healthcare (52%-41%), handle Social Security (50%-37%), keep America safe from terrorism (55%-34%), and more Americans believe that he shares their values (51%-38%). The only issue that the GOP led him on was the deficit, and their lead was within the margin of error (47%-44%).
84% of voters in battleground states said that the death of Bin Laden did not change their support for Obama either way, and 59% of them were either definitely going to vote for Obama or are strongly considering voting for Obama. Only 38% of those polled said that they would definitely not vote for Obama.
The numbers on national security (55%-34%), and basic values (51%-38%) are particularly damning, as it's the Republican Party which traditionally runs on national security and values.
With voters already clearly favoring President Obama over the Republicans in those areas, that means he can spend the majority of his time campaigning focused on issues where his lead isn't as solid.
Republicans, on the other hand, have to long way to go to convince voters that they are good for, well, anything.