For those wondering when the American people are going to start
holding President Obama accountable for the weak economy, the
answer could be: very soon. Via
Ben Smith, I see this new Quinnipiac
poll, which found that Obama's favorability rating has
dropped to 49 percent in what is considered one of the most
reliable political bellwether states in the nation. More telling,
voters there now disapprove of the way Obama is handling the
economy by a 48 percent to 46 percent margin.
Says one of the pollsters:
"The economy in Ohio is as bad as anywhere in America. These
numbers indicate that for the first time voters have decided
that President Barack Obama bears some responsibility for their
problems," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the
Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
"Until now voters have given President Obama high ratings on
the economy, blaming former President George W. Bush for their
problems. They might be taking out their frustration on
President Obama, possibly deciding that the change he promised
has not come as quickly as they expected."
"Ohio historically has been the prototypical swing state. One
of the reasons Barack Obama won the presidency by such a wide
margin is that he carried Ohio with 52 percent of the vote and
captured the lion's share of independent votes," Brown added.
"Now, by a 48 - 46 percent margin, Ohio independent voters give
the President a failing grade on the economy. These numbers
indicate that he may be losing, at least for now, some of those
who voted for him in November and should be an indication to
the White House that his honeymoon with the voters may be
ending."
In the race to replace retiring Ohio Republican Senator
Voinovich, the poll also found both Democratic candidates beating
all of the Republicans in a hypothetical general election
matchup, but the margins were too small to matter 16 months
before the 2010 election.
